All of the shopping, tree trimming, wrapping of presents and church activities will soon be over. Just a few more days and Christmas will be here. The hustle and bustle we’ve all been consumed by while waiting for the birth of the Christ Child or the fat man in a red suit to arrive will soon reach its peak.
I must admit that I always used to be a bit saddened once the festivities were over. Even after every last one was accounted for, I still found myself looking around for that one stray present with my name on it that requires unwrapping.
Conversely, one thing I definitely will NOT miss when the holiday is over is the local radio station playing non-stop Christmas music. What started out as perhaps the coolest thing ever has gotten way out of hand.
It all started years ago when our local FM station decided to give the Lehigh Valley a present and play nothing but holiday songs on Christmas day. I always looked forward to the Christmas morning tradition of brewing a huge cup of coffee, grabbing garbage bags to house shredded wrappings in and turning on the radio to hear Andy Williams belt out a carol or two or ten. Songs that I hadn’t heard since I was a wee boy traveling to Grandma’s house in the back of my parents beat up Chevelle were now blaring once again through the speakers. Life was good.
Then someone decided to make the most of a good thing. Soon the radio station bumped the 24/7 Christmas extravaganza to include Christmas eve beginning around 6PM, which at the time I thought made a nice prelude to the holiday magic and celebrations.
I began to become a bit concerned the following year when the suits at the radio station decided to start playing the Christmas songs at the start of the shopping season. Much to my chagrin Black Friday soon became the starting point for decking the halls. There seemed to be nothing to look forward to as far as music was concerned.
Flash forward to today and it’s really gotten sickening.
The local station here decided to start playing their annual CHRISTMAS MUSIC 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting November 1st. That’s right, the day after HALLOWEEN! The day you start recovering from binging on your kid’s Snickers and Milky Way mini-bars and for the next FIFTY-FOUR days is a row you get plenty of Andy, The Carpenters, Mariah Carey and the Chipmunks. Punishment that would only put a smile on the face of the Grinch. I swear, if I have to listen to Mariah Carey sing “All I Want For Christmas is You” one more time I’m going to drop a fruit cake on my head and end it all.
What’s supposed to put you in a cheery holiday mood only gives me a big ol’ case of the bah-humbugs.
December 26th can’t get here soon enough.
go.Jimmy.go 
Along those same lines, there had been an unwritten rule in retail marketing, especially on television, where Christmas advertising didn’t begin until after you saw Santa at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was like someone pushed a button, and BOOM, Christmas season was here. It was the anticipation, novelty and charm of the holidays that boosted our imagination and inspired our spirit of the season. Now, Christmas starts as soon as you take your Halloween costume off. Soon, Christmas in July won’t just be a folk festival. It will be the start of the actual holiday we once traditionally celebrated during a short season in December. Oh, those were the days.
You are right on. For me, when they hit the switch on the Peace Candle in downtown Easton the Christmas season “Officially” began. Now it’s earlier and earlier. Your Christmas in July theory in bound to come true soon enough. I’ve already seen Christmas decorations on sale side by side with the halloween candy in mid October.
I think Linus was right – Christmas has gotten too commercial.
Apparently, I was the only one commenting on this post last year. This year, I am (as of this comment) the only one who hit ‘Like.’ So, to boost your post’s readership (and interaction), I will Tweet it.