ARRRGGHH!!! It's WAY too early for the C-word yet!!!!

[liberalhistorian]

I go to CVS during my work lunch hour to fill a prescription and they have a "dancing Santa" display up. I go to pay my Dillard's bill after work and not just Dillard's but the whole fucking mall has a ton of Christmas stuff in displays, on shelves, along the walkways, and everywhere else. I turn on the radio and they're already talking about Christmas this and Christmas that.

God Almighty, it ain't even Halloween yet and they're already milking Christmas for all it's worth! Is it just me, or does it seem that the C-word is mentioned earlier and earlier each year? I hate to sound like a crotchety old hag (then again, I'm 9 weeks away from turning forty, so bear with me!), but when I was my son's age, and even all through high school and college, the C-word didn't usually start until the day after Thanksgiving. And that's the way it should be. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Christmas, it's always been special to me. I just hate the crass, kitschy commercialism and the milking it for all its worth more than two months ahead of time. It just takes away from how special Christmas really is. My grandmother used to joke that they would soon start pushing Christmas the day after the Fourth of July. We used to laugh at that, but you know what? It ain't that funny anymore.

[Worst Username Ever]

1. Jeebus, you scared me a bit there, I thought you were going to say

"concede."

[Nightjock]

2. 40 makes you a crotchety old person?

Ouch. I just recently celebrated the 3rd anniversary of my 39th birthday and I don't feel any more crotchety.

..and I agree with you about the c-word.
It went from a deeply religous holiday season that began after Thanksgiving to who can sell the most shit crap to celebrate Santa's birthday...

Pass the crotch....

[liberalhistorian]

3. "3rd anniversary of your 39th birthday?" LOL!

That's a good one. I like to say that I'm 21 _____ times over for each birthday. And there was, indeed, something really special about it beginning the day after Thanksgiving and not before. And now that's lost forever, and it's depressing. The only time I heard the C-word before Thanksgiving while growing up was when we were practicing for the school choir/orchestra Christmas program, which we had to start doing in September.

[NightTrain]

4. The commercialization of Xmas has bothered me since I was 12 years old.

As for today: since I'm an unmarried only child whose parents have both died, I always do my best to ignore the holiday season.

[jdots]

5. being raised interfaith pissed me off

My dad put up the tree on Christmas eve looking back that was the way it was supposed to be. What scares me is all the seasonal stores that open in the abandoned stores to hawk crap for halloween,saint zippy's day etc..... How much do they charge to sit on santa's lap at the mall ? BA HUM BUG !

[liberalhistorian]

6. Dean, there are lots of things you can

do during the holidays instead of avoiding them. Volunteering and making others who are just as lonely feel better, getting together with friends, etc., etc.

[NightTrain]

I usually do fill-ins at the radio station.

That way, the DJs who have families can spend the day with them, and people who don't want to hear holiday music can tune me in and hear something else. (I've yet to do a fill-in on Christmas Day during which I played a single holiday record!)

[liberalhistorian]

9. And I'm sure you have

plenty of listeners who appreciate not being bombarded with holiday music! I love Christmas music, but can only take so much of it at a time.

[NightTrain]

10. Come to think of it, Christmas falls on a Saturday this year.

Which means THE SOUL EXPRESS will air on Christmas night. Hmm.... Should I or shouldn't I do a holiday show? God knows I have plenty of soulful, funky Christmas tunes!

Something for me to ruminate on during the next two months. :eyes:

[Cuban_Liberal]

7. We put up Christmas decorations at the store the day after Thanksgiving

That's PLENTY early enough, IMO.

:)

[liberalhistorian]

8. Yes, and that's just

the way it should be! It was always something to look forward to and that made Christmas special, it starting the day after Thanksgiving. Sadly, my son will never know that, SIGH.

[Philostopher]

11. They already had a 'Christmas shop' open at a local department store ...

just after Labor Day. The Mr. and I had gone to get haircuts, and they'd staged all the junk up in the open area in the balcony, next to the hair salon. It made us sing 'For The Love Of Money' all the way out to the car. September, fercrysake!