"MODERN
TIMES"
IF IT'S OCTOBER, IT
SHOULDN'T FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS
By
Lloyd
Garver
A couple of weeks ago – on
October 1st -- several houses in my neighborhood put up their Halloween
decorations. While I was running some
errands, I couldn't help thinking about the fact that I've never seen Halloween
decorations so close to Labor Day. Then
I went into one of those large, chain-store drugstores, and, you guessed it --
they had already placed some little Santa Claus figures around the store. What's going on? Why are people in such a rush to celebrate holidays? If this trend continues, are we going to
start celebrating the Fourth of July in June?
I understand why people who
sell decorations, cards, and gifts try to get the public to start buying early.
But why are so many people buying into
buying early? Are they afraid if they
don't do their Halloween shopping a month ahead of time that the stores will
run out of bad candy and fake blood?
Maybe it's just another
example of people always being in a hurry these days. This is an era in which people feel they have to call home on
their cell phones to say that they will be home in five minutes. Some folks would rather skip a movie than
stand in a short line. And while
waiting for their food to cook, some people angrily think, "I can't
believe how long the microwave is taking."
But I suspect the hurried
holiday thing is more specific than that.
I think people are in a hurry to have a good time. Maybe with all the serious things going on
in the world, they're desperate for some fun or joy in their lives. They figure
that if it's going to make them feel good to think about Christmas, why should
they have to wait until December? If
buying Thanksgiving Jell-O moulds in the shape of Pocahontas and John Smith is
going to give them a warm, family feeling, why not buy them in August? If
you're a life-of-the-party kind of guy, why should you have to wait until the
week before April Fools' Day before buying that whoopee cushion?
I guess the feeling is that
if we keep celebrating, we won't have to face reality and we'll just have one
long, enjoyable holiday. But of course,
that won't work. It hasn't worked out in sports as sports seasons become longer
and longer and merge into each other. When the NBA playoffs are interminable,
how enthusiastic can you get about the finals?
When I was a little kid, I was thrilled when Halloween came around. I could wear a costume and go trick-or-treating
at all the scary, decorated houses in the neighborhood. Now the kids next door have probably had
their Halloween costumes since the summer, and by the time the holiday rolls
around, they will have been looking at all the "scary" houses in the
neighborhood for about a month. How
special will the actual day of Halloween be to them?
That's the problem. If you start trimming the tree when you
should be trimming the turkey, will you still be in the Christmas spirit when
Jack Frost starts nipping at your nose?
So, control yourself if you
get the urge to buy those cute little valentines for your kids while they're at
summer camp. Don't hang those Christmas
stockings or polish the menorah at least until the baseball season is
over. If we don't restrain ourselves
and reverse this trend of longer and longer holiday seasons, pretty soon nobody
will care about any holidays. I'm going
to do my part. My birthday is in June,
and I will not accept any gifts one day before January 1st.