Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Christmas Time Is Here...Already?

Here we are, just a week after Halloween. Thanksgiving is in two weeks and one day (I think that's the shortest possible interval between those two holidays, if I'm not mistaken). And tonight, I saw my first lighted outdoor Christmas tree of the season (in front of a shopping center, if you're curious). I also went to hear live jazz tonight, and I heard my first Christmas carol quotes of the season tonight ("The Christmas Song" and "Jingle Bells," if you're also curious).

Upon seeing the tree, one of my friends asked, "Can't we just have Thanksgiving first?" Another one pointed out that it wasn't likely that someone would put a lighted turkey in front of their shopping center, but the first friend's point was well taken.

Do holiday decorations go up too early nowadays?

NEXT DAY UPDATE: I noticed at lunch today that Firewheel is decking its own halls...umm, streets, that is. And I saw Christmas lights on a house in Plano on my way back from dinner.

DAY-AFTER-THAT UPDATE: I heard a high school band rehearsing "Sleigh Ride" for the first time this year. Before all is said and done, every band (except the beginners) at every public school where I teach will play this song. I don't know how much of a royalty goes to Leroy Anderson's estate every time a school plays it, but I bet his grandchildren go to really good colleges. (Fun Fact of the day: 2008 is Anderson's centennial year...so maybe it's his great-grandchildren who are attending good schools.

2 comments:

Eric Grubbs said...

I think they go up a little too early as well. But, I think it's just a desire to have holiday cheer extend to two months . . .

GTravis said...

This year it's been remarkably restrained so far. Last year they skipped Halloween all together and went straight to Christmas at the end of September. Maybe the retailers are starting to realize that we're all getting burned out on seeing Christmas decorations 4-5 months out of the year.