Already?

[Dwynwen]

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but the radio has already been playing Christmas songs this week, and a local community college has set up Christmas trees in the cafeteria already.  Now, Christmas is my favorite holiday, but even I get tired of seeing Christmas season stuff out too early.

 

What do the rest of you think about this?  Does this kind of thing annoy you, or do you like the extension of the Christmas season?

[Vemynal]

I'm sitting not 3 feet form a fake christmas tree my mom bought and just put up today...

 

wth? thanksgiving isnt even over yet

 

The only reason stores are pulling all this crap is because they dont make money off thanksgiving, its not commercial enough really- so they skip it over in favor of the most commercial holiday of the year (cept maybe valentines day)

[Rasheta Ardashir]

It annoys me big time. I'm not a christan so many of the christmas songs after awhile start to get on my nerves almost as though the radio stations are trying to shove that religion down my throat. I'm totally fine with all religions just so long as you don't try and shove it down my throat then we must talk *laughs* The decorations I think while nice and cheery can also be annoying. If you get a tree to soon before Yule the needles start to fall off and can be a nusiance. *mutters* I hate getting stabbed by dry needles at my school by the tree they put up. *sighs* LOL

[Barmacral]

What are you talking about? Thanksgiving is long past.

 

Oh right, Americans, a month behind the times...

 

But yeah, christmas stuff is up way too early. Not before December I say!

[el Nynaeve]

It drives me crazy all this Christmas stuff really early. It's only trying to cash in on the holidays as much as possible. I don't wanna see mince pies and Christmas puddings in the shops at the end of September like I did this year. :P

[Besolyn]

I’m not a practicing Christian anymore, but I was raised in a Christian home, and still celebrate the coming together of my family. When I was younger the commercialism made me angry because the stores push and push, yet refuse to call it Christmas. The employees must say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”

 

I think it just shows the idiocy of trying to force everything down the “PC” hole. Tolerance and sensitivity for your fellow man is great.....taking a religion’s symbolically most holy day, and turning into the joke Christmas has become is disgusting......don’t even get me started on Easter  ::) (even though I live for Cadbury eggs and Peeps :P )

[Raeyn]

 

I'm stupidly grateful that the other DJs on my station wait until December to start blasting Christmas music.  The only time that stuff should be on is when I decorate my tree... in December.  *snorts*

[Mystica]

we don't have thanksgiving, but we have Sinterklaas which is on 6th December. The guy (and holiday) looks somewhat similar to Santa Claus (it's a holiday also all about getting presents for kids). So imagine the confusion kids must go through when they see both Sinterklaas ànd Santa strolling through the streets. It's ridiculous, really. I get that the stores want to sell stuff and they want to present it in time for the holidays, but honestly, it bugs me up to no end that the spirit of these holidays (which is what SHOULD be the most important part of it) is so blatently disrespected. All for the benefit of profit (on one side) and atmosphere (on the other side, the side of the ones putting up Christmas decorations long before time). There's other ways to make your homes more cosy and stuff, people. Use them. Don't go along with the commercialisation of all these things that only serve to put more cash into the pocket of business (wo)men.

 

If this continues, we'll be seeing Christmas trees in July and the Eastern Bunny in December. *rolls eyes*

[Barmacral]

I went to buy Halloween candy on Halloween so I could hand it out to trick-or-treater's. I was unable to attain any halloween candy because the stores had already packed it away and pulled out their christmas candy. I mean, seriously? Halloween wasn't even done yet.

[Naeann]

Packed it away for what?  Next year?  We put ours on sale the day after.  We still have some of it.  It's 75 percent off now.

 

We started putting christmas stuff out at my store LONG before halloween was over.  Yes. Middle of October we had trees and stuff out.

[Adanza]

Yeah, I was shocked when my grocery store had a Christmas ornament display up in early October...I know it's been creeping up before Thanksgiving a little more each year, but October?!! 

 

I'm also not religious but all these things like feeling that you can't say 'Merry Christmas' for fear of offending someone really bother me.  What about offending the Christians who believe that Christmas is NOT just a commercial holiday?  By trying not to endorse one religion over another we haven't found some happy medium.  Instead we've ended up placing Christianity bellow others.

[Elgee]

I can still handle the decorations, but the Christmas carrols? It drives one batty! All it achieves with me, is to make me do a splash and dash into the shops (ie run in, grab whatever is most needed and closest, then run for the tills and i'm outa there). I will NOT linger, check out the goodies, get suckered into buying. So what are they actually achieving by shoving all this jolly cheer down our throats? (or should that be ears?) It's no wonder Christmas time has the hightest murder / suicide rate! All I want to do is take an AK47 and shoot up every speaker blaring tinnily at me  >:(

 

And don't even get me started on prices. R35 for ONE generic christmas card?? You have got to be joking. All my peeps are getting postcards with South African scenes on them. Not only do they not look like every other card, they also only cost R4.50 each.

 

Errr ... ok my rant over  :-[

 

Thanks, Dwyn - I can now venture into the stores for groceries without being in imminent danger of throttling the managers  ;D

[Taya]

I saw Christmas stuff in stores back in October. and I think usually in January sometime we start to see Easter stuff (well ok, not quite that quickly...but not much longer than it).

 

It's dumb.

[Samuraiflip05]

I don't recall seeing Christmas stuff in stores prior to Halloween, but one local radio station(Which will be switching formats on Jan 1) dropped the existing playlist and went to all Holiday Music back in the first week of Oct. 

 

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I am listening to it right now as I post.  :P

[Dwynwen]

LOL, Elgee!  I had no idea that by posting this thread, I would be making the world a safer place.  ;)

 

You guys made some good points about taking the whole PC holidays thing too far.  I think the religions of the world have the right to celebrate their holidays as they wish, and I don't see how saying "Merry Christmas" to a non-Christian is super offensive.  The non-Christian person can just say thank you and take the comment as it was meant--a wish for a happy holiday.  It's sort of like how I react when the Seventh-Day Adventists around here tell me "Happy Sabbath" if they see me on a Saturday.  I'm not SDA, and it's not Sabbath to me, but I know they are just trying to wish me well in the way they know how rather than trying to shove their religion down my throat.  I don't say "Happy Sabbath" back, but I do just say thank you and move on.

[Nephitess]

*reads all the posts*

 

Yup... anything i would have said has already been said. LOL. I totally agree with you all! Where i live the Christmas stuff was out right after Halloween. *sighs*

[Samuraiflip05]

I got all of my shopping done on Black Friday.  ;D

[Aleita]

Oh there have been Christmas decorations up in town for far too many weeks! Early November!

[Samuraiflip05]

Also...put up the tree and home decorations on Saturday.  ;D

[Besolyn]

I have to put up our tree at work this Friday. Being the receptionist I see it every day.....ALL day. At least I get to decorate it how I like it. :)