As soon as Halloween ended, I got a little nervous.
It seemed like November 1st hit and suddenly everyone was singing Christmas carols and watching Elf. And I kind of freaked out, because I could've sworn that Christmas was in December. And even more concerning, I worry that people truly believe that Elf is the best Christmas movie ever made. But that's a problem for later.
Honestly, I thought I remembered a holiday between Halloween and Christmas. Weird, I know, but I felt like I usually had a little bit longer to enjoy fall before I had to spend any and all money I might've saved on Christmas gifts.
Somewhat confused and eager to get to the bottom of this mystery, I opened up my calendar, and there it was, conveniently tucked away in November, almost exactly a month before Christmas. That's right folks, I'm talking about Thanksgiving.
The forgotten holiday. The sad and under appreciated non-Christian cousin of Easter, completely devoid of bunnies and baskets of candy and toys, and therefore ignored and skipped over completely.
How sad.
But I figure this must be a mistake. I mean if the current election has taught us anything, it's that most Americans are operating on something like two braincells, so I'm willing to look past this oversight and simply inform the public about the holiday they've so mistreated.
So pay attention here, people.
Nobody loves the Christmas season more than I do. I might actually love the season more than the holiday itself. Nobody anticipates decorating the tree, watching It's A Wonderful Life, and listening to Elvis and Dean Martin croon like I do. It's a better world when it's the Christmas season.
But there's a reason why the world isn't like that all the time, and quite frankly, I don't care if that's problematic to the grand question of culture. The Christmas season is magical because we have to wait for it. And when we try to prolong it by celebrating early, we're ruining it. Destroying its special nature. Wearing out the joyous and sparkling goodwill that takes an entire 11 months to revive every year.
So please stop it. Stop putting up your lights, stop watching Elf, stop acting like it's the Christmas season, because even though your mistakes are made out of ignorance and forgetfulness, they're mistakes that we just can't afford to make when something as precious as the Christmas season is at stake.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and it deserves to be given its due celebration. George Bailey and good old Elvis are willing to wait until leftovers are being packed away.
