Now that Halloween is finished, people take this as an opportunity to start talking and posting about Christmas.

WELL IT'S NOT!

The day after Halloween is the start of November, the month of Thanksgiving. Christmas comes in December, people! And it is still six weeks away!

What does it say about the American culture that we mentally skip the holiday where we are supposed to recognize our blessings and be grateful for them? What does it say that we skip the holiday that is about fun and candy and costumes to the one where we inhale cookies and presents?

It says that we don't want to pause and think. We like to keep moving, move to the "Next Big Thing," the next holiday we have to prepare for. Why? Why are we so opposed to taking in this one?

My absolute biggest pet peeve about this time of year -- the stretch between Halloween and Thanksgiving -- is Christmas music.

A few weeks ago (I hope you remember) I wrote an article about rules in the apartment. Well, they were simply an abridged version of the actual rules for my apartment, where they are much more specific to our needs. Number three on that list is: "No winter carols before Thanksgiving." Now I would never do such a thing, but I'm worried about my roommates. So far they've been great. But as the holiday spirit sinks its candy cane claws into their shoulders, I fear they may crack.

I have a keen ear for these winter carols (and I use the term "winter carols" because I live in an apartment with five other very smart girls that could catch me on a technicality by saying some songs like "Let it Snow" don't actually say "Christmas"). If I so much as hear the first note of "Here Comes Santa Claus," before we come back from Thanksgiving break, I will scream.

A close second pet peeve is store merchandise. A few years back, my parents decided they needed more Halloween decorations. (Apparently the giant inflatable spider planted on our front lawn wasn't enough.) So we took a trip to a certain home improvement store (it was Lowe's), searching for Halloween decorations. Please keep in mind that this was about a week and a half before Halloween. I repeat: before Halloween. I was expecting a huge array of blow-up pumpkins with Snoopy or spooky scary skeletons that cackle at you if you get too close.

Instead, there was one display for Halloween.

ONE DISPLAY!

One display of a few skeletons you can hang above your door, some plastic pumpkins, and some cloth ghosts you could easily make at home.

And, you know what, I don't think I would've been as mad if there hadn't been two full aisles and a five-aisle-wide display of Christmas decorations right beside it. As soon as we walked in, it was nothing but silver and gold, while the one little display served as a shame corner for Halloween decorations.

What -- What the hell?

Listen, I'm no Scrooge. As soon as Thanksgiving ends, I go crazy for Christmas. My alarms get changed to Christmas songs. I watch "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" on repeat. I decorate every inch of the place with colors and signs and shiny things that all scream, "Welcome home! It's Christmas!"

I just don't do it until after Thanksgiving.