For me, the countdown to Thanksgiving (the last Thursday in November in the US) means officially heralding in the Christmas season. This has always been the way things have been done in my family. But for the last 15 years or so, the holiday season seems to creep earlier and earlier in sales land. Pre-lit Christmas trees compete for space with jack o lanterns now. This past year, I actually saw garland being strung right after Labor Day (the first Monday in September). I know stores feeling the pinch of the recession want the longest shopping season possible, but I don’t *really* want to shop for tree lights while preparing for a July 4th barbecue. Do you?
All that being said, I’ve also been guilty of the Christmas Creep, only not with shopping but with music. I started listening to my all Christmas radio station on November 11th. In an interesting creep of its own, the radio station asked its listeners to vote when the holiday music should start. Each year, the audience voted earlier and earlier until the station determined it should start no sooner than Veteran’s Day. It’s a bit strange listening to “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas” interspersed with commercials for Veteran’s charities, but there it is.
You might think I would be tired of holiday music even before the season starts, and you would be wrong. The holidays ordinarily infuse me with a sense of contentment and well bearing, like the smell of jet fuel does for travel. (What, you didn’t read my London travelogue?) I say ordinarily because at times the stress of the holidays, with shopping, deadlines, and the need to be jolly even when I may not feel that way, gets in the way of actually enjoying the season. So I try to celebrate with things, like Christmas tunes, before the holidays get underway. I changed my computer and iPhone wallpaper over to holiday themes. My ringtone is “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer.”
I even thought about putting up my tree, but something stopped me – have to wait for Thanksgiving first.
All the very best for Thanksgiving!
Thank you!
Wish we had Thanksgiving day over here in England…it sounds like the perfect start to the run up to Christmas…perhaps some kind American could adopt me for the day??? I went to the German market (in England?) at the weekend…we enjoyed lots of singalong festive fun in the beer tent…not sure what ‘Tulips from Amsterdam’ had to do with anything but you have to go with the flow sometimes don’t you? Everything was going well until a rather dodgy man in lederhosen called the children to the stage I thought it was the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Santa was even more weird then a lady started banging a tambourine…brilliant I came home with a spicey sausage, a giant pretzel and a headache…Hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow.
Create a family tradition of “Thanksgiving” of your own and set it during this week-ish. Americans (US & Canada) don’t have the monopoly on being thankful. 🙂
And you can do yours in the complete absence of pilgrims! (Seriously, the Puritans put the Grim in Pilgrim…)
LOL! That German market sounded interesting. I’ll make you an honorary American and send you some dinner as soon as I figure out how to vacuum pack a 20 pound turkey with trimmings. 😉
As your fellow Elf, whose been listening to Christmas music since Veteran’s Day, I’ll just say “Amen, sister!” to your post. 🙂
Yeah, but have you put up the tree yet? 😉
I can’t ever make myself perceive Christmas until Advent (which is this coming Sunday, so it’s not too much longer for me). Too much liturgy exposure as a child means I have to have a quasi-theatrical runup to the holiday. And Chanukkah is very late this year. Meanwhile, I’m just going to enjoy a very quiet Thanksgiving, and I hope you have a good time decorating.
I’m corralling Winston and starting to feel a little surge, not a minute too soon. Hope you have a very restive Thanksgiving. 🙂
Ooh, Judiang,
Amen on waiting to do XMAS until after Turkey day as I called it as a child.
And thanks for the reminder to break out my XMAS tunes. I love the Glee Xmas albums. I have the green one. Yeah, like they don’t all have some green on them. Ha!.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Cheers! Grati ;->
I really do love Christmas music. My trauma comes from many years of working retail at a Really Big Store where Christmas stuff went up after back-to-school was over. I spent too many evenings in October turning off all the carol-singing stuffed toys that a group of kids (or adults) would turn on at once.