Everyone knows that when Christmas decorations start appearing in stores, it means that the holidays are coming up in a couple of months. Why is that? Why don't we see red, white, and blue decorations on the shelves in June or red, pink, and white trinkets in January? It's expected that most people, or mainly children at least, choose Christmas as their favorite holiday because of the gifts, and decking the house out with ornaments. That could be why department stores start selling holiday-oriented objects early. Speaking of ornaments, maybe the yearly tradition of sprinkling the house with holiday spirit causes businesses to get a head-start with sales.
In more serious terms, religion probably plays a big role in the winter time. With the United States being 78% Christian, according to "Religion & Public Life Project", many people in the country celebrate Christmas which influences the increase in holiday preparation days. Also, some people may feel that it is the best holiday because it is the most important for them.
Overall, there are many factors that contribute to the early start of Christmas celebrations. Nowadays, these factors push the "pre-holiday" days up by a couple months. But is this necessarily a bag thing? Of course, this topic has its good and bad.
There are positives and negative sides to the early start of preparing for the winter celebrations. One of the good things is getting into the holiday spirit. It's not every month that you get to put up a tree in your house and put shiny objects on it, along with hanging up huge "socks" above the fireplace. Aside from the at-home activities, there is plenty of time to go out shopping with loved ones in mind. The extended number of days for gift-shopping can relieve the stress of going out to buy presents that are on sale only a week before the family gatherings.
On the other hand, the unfortunate side of thinking about the winter holidays in November, and sometimes October, is the decreased family time during Thanksgiving. When we're given more time for celebrations at the end of the year, we have to compensate for the time by reducing the amount of attention for Thanksgiving and maybe even Halloween. In addition to Christmas shopping, Black Friday, which is not necessarily a holiday, takes away more family time by offering great deals for items starting when the clock strikes midnight the day right after Thanksgiving. Now, however, some stores are willing to open on Thanksgiving to get a head start with the holiday shopping. What happened to spending one good meal, at the table with your family?
Overall, people should try to regulate their time spent on certain holidays and not forget about their main purposes. In this case, people should be given time to shop for others, but also acknowledge Thanksgiving because it's here for a reason. However, at the end, every one has their own way of preparing for the holidays. In addition, every one needs to be able to enjoy these times with family despite the hectic days that come prior to each celebration.
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I agree, it always seems a bit ridiculous when I hear Christmas carols in stores the day after Halloween. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with others and say thanks for the year and Christmas is the same along with the exchange of thoughtful gifts. However nowadays, aside from Black Friday, it seems as though many people simply skip Thanksgiving and want to go straight into shopping, be it for themselves or for others. Its a shame when smaller holidays are overlooked in favor of the major ones, i.e. Christmas and Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI always found it confusing when the stores began selling Christmas trees BEFORE November. Its very irritating when you need to buy something last minute and you cannot find it, because the stores are already selling things for the next holiday. Nice article!
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