The air is filled with the smell of pine trees, Christmas music plays over the loud speakers and trees sparkle with white lights. The only problem? It’s
​still hot outside​.
Halloween is barely over ​and Thanksgiving just ended. You’re looking at Halloween decorations, and turn to see Thanksgiving, then turn again to see Christmas. Whatever happened to Christmas coming out after Black Friday?
Lately, the holidays have become nothing but a greedy quest for money. The sooner the Christmas merchandise comes out, the sooner the public starts spending. When did the holidays stop being about family and friends? Now it’s: “I want this” and “I want that.”
I work in a jewelry store, and we started to put up our Christmas merchandise in mid-September. From then on out, everything is Christmas: we’ve already begun to have holiday sales and even had a day where we listened to Christmas music. Last year I was so sick of Christmas music before December was half way over because we had been playing the same old 20 songs for so long. I don’t want to lose the Christmas spirit again this year.
My dad is Santa at a mall in North Carolina. The amount of four year olds who ask for iPads and iPhones truly amazes me. The commercialization of Christmas and gadgets has begun to take away childhood and innocence. When did kids start asking for electronics instead of Barbies and toy trucks? When I was younger, there were no iPods or iPads, and our parents’ phones didn’t have games on them.
We as Americans are not spending enough time living in the now. We are constantly looking ahead, wishing our lives away. Christmas comes the same day every year. December 25th. Yet, we make it come faster every year. Before we know it, Christmas decorations will begin to be replenished on December 26th, preparing for next year’s Christmas. By continuing to put out decorations as early as we do, we lessen the importance of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We take away the importance and the true reason for the season.