Have you heard about OctoNovemCember and do you know about the Pumpkin Headed Turkey Claus?
Bah Humbug!
According to this article from NBC News, Christmas is starting a whole lot earlier this year, and I’m not too happy about it. In my opinion, October (or before) is too soon for the holiday season to be in full swing.
The OctoNovemCember craze is an economic push to ensure that retailers make the most money in a down economy and consumers get a break on prices, scoring amazing deals that help them fulfill their holiday shopping lists during the recession. Seems like a win-win proposition doesn’t it?
But if you look deeper, you’ll see how this cultural phenomenon cheapens Christmas and detracts from the meaning of the holidays. When Christmas comes so early, it’s reduced to something far too commercialized. When I see so much Christmas surrounding me months and months in advance, by the time the day after Thanksgiving rolls around, my eyes start to glaze over and I don’t even notice the holiday decorations anymore, ones that have been assaulting my senses for months.
Is it authentic to begin Christmas in late September or early October when people are still wearing shorts and flip flops during warm early fall days? To declare the winter holidays in full swing when the Halloween pumpkins are still on the ground and we haven’t even thought about Thanksgiving dinner?
Next thing you know, they’ll be declaring “Christmas in July” as the true start of the holiday season, and we’ll all feel pressure to put up a holiday tree in red and green at our next backyard barbeque! Or we’ll have Christmas trees and tinsel on the beach, giving in to media pressure, as ads declare less than 6 months of shopping days til Christmas!
Better hurry up before all the good deals are gone! Perhaps we can all get the jump on the season by leaving all our holiday decorations up and never taking them down as the holidays are surely coming earlier and earlier with frightening speed...
I don’t want the Christmas holidays reduced to a unique sales pitch, but that’s what culture is giving us this year. I intend to fight back by finding ways to honor the true sentiment behind the holiday season.
I noticed this trend of Christmas coming earlier and earlier a few years ago; in fact, I wrote an article that shared some thoughts about how I am coping with the early Christmas season and holiday burnout:
Christmas Season Starting Earlier: Does It Lead to Holiday Burnout? by Allison West Published on Socyberty
The Christmas shopping season is starting super early this year. Being surrounded by Christmas trees and holiday lights is already giving me burnout, and it’s only early November!
I’ll admit it: I’m not always a Christmas person. In the past I’ve had my moments of seasonal depression, and as much as I promise myself I’ll feel sunny and upbeat over the holidays, Christmas sometimes makes me feel a little blue. Even when nothing’s wrong, and I should feel on top of the world, there gets to be a point over the holidays when the rows and rows of Christmas merchandise and glittering Christmas trees start to close in on me and I can’t even breathe. Read on...
