I love the holiday season. I love the lights, buying gifts for the people I care about, the food and the general happiness that the whole season brings. However, my dear Christmas, we have a problem. It seems like every year the build up to Christmas season starts earlier and earlier. This year, I saw Christmas trees up in a store the week before Halloween. Halloween!! I have a problem with skipping an entire season because Christmas is coming.
One of the biggest signs of Christmas starting earlier and earlier is what retailers call the “Christmas Creep” – this is when sales that are normally reserved for Black Friday or Cyber Monday come creeping in earlier and earlier. While watching the local news last weekend, the reporters were discussing the big deals that were coming for Veterans Day Weekend (Remembrance Day Weekend in the US). It almost takes away the excitement of waking up at midnight to go shopping on Black Friday. Why bother waiting the extra two weeks for Black Friday when you can get the deals now?! While this is great for consumers (who save money) and for stores (who increase their revenue), it is sad to people like me, who cherish the holiday season for its short amount of time of excitement and special deals.
There actually have been studies that show too much Christmas can be bad for your health. A British clinical psychologist, Linda Blair, did a study about the link between Christmas music and mental health. She found that the constant playing of Christmas music in stores, in your car or even while going to work, reminds people of all of the things that need to be done before the holiday season arrives. The happy music actually can mentally drain people more, making it hard for them to tune it out. In a time that is already so focused on mental health, this is important to know.
I don’t want Christmas to completely stop, I just want it to wait. I’m American, so I prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving (the last Thursday in November). However, I know Canada doesn’t have a late holiday like the US does; I would just like it to wait until after Remembrance Day. Give the veterans the respect they deserve, and then move on with the excitement of the holiday season. It’s a win-win – a bit more Christmas but not overdoing it. Let Halloween do it’s thing.
What do you think about the Christmas season getting earlier each year?