‘Tis the season to be jolly?’ It’s not even Halloween yet. Every year Christmas starts earlier and earlier, taking over the spotlight during the holiday season, pushing other holidays off to the side. Businesses pushing home decorations and presents are being released before the end of October.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I can quote almost every line from “Elf”; I wear Christmas sweaters ironically and secretly love it; I drink hot chocolate like it’s water; decorating the Christmas tree is my sport.
Believe me when I say I don’t want to come across as a Scrooge, but I believe that holidays, through the abuse of commercialization, have lost their meaning.
Maybe I’m sentimental, but I miss a more simpler time when Halloween arrived and my family carved pumpkins together and set up decorations around the house.
I looked forward to Thanksgiving, spending time with my family and eating heaping portions of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.
Thanksgiving provided a smooth transition to a wintery wonderland of gingerbread houses, candy countdown calendars, and last minute Christmas shopping.
But in the past few years, it seems like the moment fall starts, people skip over Halloween and Thanksgiving, moving straight to Christmas.
It’s disappointing to see this happen, because it makes Christmas the only holiday to recieve attention.
Black Friday can take some blame for initiating this “epidemic.” Commercial companies and major department stores have expertly fooled consumers into believing we’re saving “big bucks” by participating in Black Friday’s madness. In reality, it’s a scam.
Retailers mark up prices months before to create the illusion that consumers are saving more money, when it turns out, the reduced prices are actually closer to the sale price before it was marked up.
Black Friday has become more of a game among retailers trying to make the most profit the later they stay open, rather than providing reasonable prices for their shoppers. None of this screams “holiday cheer” to me, yet so much time is wasted on chasing the best “steals and deals” possible.
Hallmark has also contributed to the spread of early-onset holiday advertisements. (They’re also responsible for the explosion of Valentine’s day). Hallmark is basically a money-making pit that profits on commercializing holidays; therefore, the earlier people start buying their products, the longer their season lasts, which means more money.
Other major stores like Target and Costco have already put out their line of Christmas ornaments for the season. Costco has even started selling fake Christmas trees. It’s as if the holiday season has completely consumed the months of September through December, which may be positive for retail stores, but not for my wallet.
Advertisements hypnotize people to buy things earlier and earlier, like Kmart’s “lay-away deal” where you can purchase the gifts ahead of time, but then pay for it in increments instead of all at once.
Avoid succumbing to the marketing madness revolving around Christmas, because remember: Halloween and Thanksgiving are holidays, too.