'Tis (already) the season
By Jane Muhlstein
Walking into a drugstore two days before Halloween, with high hopes of finding make-up garish enough to suit my costume, I was confronted with a terrifying sight. I was startled to see, sandwiched between hair products and cosmetics, a Christmas aisle.
This aisle didn't just have wrapping paper and ribbons. Those were there, of course, but there were also lights, stockings, garlands, wreaths, and big plastic lawn figures. Suddenly I forgot that it was only Oct. 29.
Every year, the Christmas season starts sooner. I will not be shocked if there comes a day when we have four months of Christmas songs, sales and decorations. I can see it now: "Hurry! Only 116 shopping days left!"
What happened to the days when Thanksgiving was the beginning of the holiday season? As a kid, I never even thought about Christmas until I saw Santa Claus and his reindeer ride down 34th Street in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now, instead of being a sort of kickoff, Thanksgiving is just another day for family gatherings throughout the long and already-in- progress holiday season.
Despite my affection for the yuletide, the dragging out of this jolly season offends me. The very thing that makes Christmas so special is the fact that we wait all year for this short, but extraordinary time when people really do become a little more generous, forgiving and genuinely kind. By extending the holiday season, we take away the sacredness of this time and condition people to treat it as any other time.
It's easy to lose those warm, fuzzy feelings and notions toward kindness and generosity when we walk into a fully decorated Macy's a month and a half before the big day. Advent, the Church's four week long period of waiting and preparing for Christmas, is still almost three weeks away, yet I saw the first Christmas CD commercial three weeks ago. I fear I may lose the special place in my heart set aside for Christmas carols if soon they are playing as early as September.
Seeing a trailer for a new holiday movie, with its snow, reindeer and good old Kris Kringle, I am tempted to cave in and break into song. But I promise I won't be rockin' around my Christmas tree for at least another month.