I was in the garden department at Wal Mart the other day and what do I see on the shelves but an artificial Christmas trees. On my facebook today my niece posted a holiday underwear ad from Kmart. Its September 14th. We have barely finished back to school and we are already starting to see Christmas merchandise in the stores.
There are some Christmas merchandise that I don't mind namely Christmas craft and sewing items, If you want to have those things in time for the Christmas season than its a good idea to start now, especially if your free time to work on those things is limited.
What does bother me is ready made Christmas items. Why do we need to see Christmas in stores months before the holiday season is upon us? Christmas has become this massive commercial endeavor that stores bank on to bring in a large portion of their yearly profit. Christmas used to be simple celebration where people made things for each other and focused on being together with family and friends instead of how much money should we spend on everyone. For those who were Christian it was a commemoration of the birth of their savior. Even when Christmas was instead the celebration of the winter solstice, the celebrations focused on friends and family and the joy of knowing that the days would once again get longer and Spring would return.
Now our stores begin stocking holiday items for Christmas and Hanukah earlier and earlier. The Christmas season used to officially start the day after Thanksgiving here in America, now we are beginning to see Christmas sales not just Thanksgiving day but days before Thanksgiving as well.
Kids channels are crammed with commercials about the latest and greatest toys now that the kids are back in school so they can anticipate all the things they could get for Christmas. Charities are starting to gear up for the holiday drives because people seem to be more generous in the Christmas season. The thing is these charities need funding all year round.
Instead of the commercial and charitable giving free for all at the end of the year shouldn't we have the attitude of giving all year round. With our children they hear they have to be good or Santa won't bring them any gifts starting in November. What do you tell your children the rest of the year to get them to behave? Christmas is often referred to as the spirit of giving originating in the idea of the gift brought to the young Jesus by the Wise Men from the East. Why can't we have that spirit all year round. There are so many worthy charities for families, sick children, homeless, poor etc. Personally I wish I were a billionaire just so I could give money to the charities I find most worthy all year long.
Christmas can be a wonderful time for sharing with friends and family and giving to those in need, but I wish that more people would be just as generous outside of the holidays. I wish that commercial endeavors were not so focused on the mighty buck that they take away the special feeling that comes with Christmas.
Unless you are celebrating the spirit of giving year round then September is just to early to start the town criers calling Christmas is only 18 Fridays away. Christmas has been lost to the advertisements, lights and pretty packages. Instead of a time of joy and friendship it has become a major stressor as we strive to give bigger and better than our neighbors and to buy just the right toy so that our children are not disappointed. If only people would revolt against the stores and go back to a simpler and more joyous time.
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