Remember when we were younger and people started playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving and not November 1st? Do you remember when Black Friday sales started at 4 AM rather than at 6 PM on Thanksgiving? It's like we're trying to get people so excited about the holidays but we barely get to enjoy the holidays in front of us.
In the last 5 years, I have found it hard for me to get into holidays because by the time the holidays actually come around, it seem likes retail stores have already put out the next one. What's the rush? Why do I need to be looking at Christmas stuff in October when I haven't even planned out my Halloween costume? Why do people start wearing Christmas sweaters starting in November? I think it's ridiculous how retail manipulates you into buying holiday stuff early.
Retail has also ruined a few holidays for me. In high school, oftentimes when we were at the Thanksgiving table we were missing someone because they had to work instead of spending it with family. It seems like now-a-days Christmas is the only holiday that everyone gets off. What happened to holidays being about spending time with family and not all this other stuff people talk about?
When I was younger, I was taught that Halloween season starts in October when ABC played its 13 Halloween movies and not in September when all I can think about is the start of school. I don’t want to hear Mariah Carey’s Christmas voice until I get my hands on a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich with my family. I want to be able to sit down at the Thanksgiving table in the future and have everyone present and not stuck in a store about to get mobbed by crazy moms who just want to get their Christmas shopping done and out of the way.
I'm sorry, call me old fashion, but I refuse to get excited for holidays that are months away when there is a holiday only two weeks away. All my friends have started listening to Christmas music but I will not until the day after Thanksgiving. My roommate decorated our apartment for Halloween some time in September and I don’t think a single leaf had changed color yet. Don’t get me wrong, you guys do you, but I will not participate in something as crazy as this.
It’s great that our society today gets into the holidays as much as they do, but it’s all just too early. We can wait a few weeks to get through one holiday before moving on to the next… it's not that hard. So please, stop playing Christmas music on the radio and put away the sweaters. Sit down with your family at Thanksgiving and don’t worry about that 7 PM sale at the mall. Let's celebrate the holidays at their respected times and learn to just get through one before moving on to the next. Live today and not next week. I can promise you that even if you start early, the holidays will not come sooner just because society and retailers say so.
