Christmas in November? No, thanks

It’s a bit disconcerting to already hear Christmas music playing in some area stores and hotels, and see Christmas merchandising in full swing. Some homeowners have Christmas lights up.
Ahem. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!
President Franklin Roosevelt tried to appease retailers in 1939 by officially moving Thanksgiving one week earlier — from the last Thursday in November to the next to last — to allow more time for Christmas shopping.
But many Americans resisted the change. Roosevelt’s opponents derided the holiday as “Franksgiving.” In 1941, Roosevelt and Congress officially established the holiday as the fourth Thursday in November.
Apparently that’s still not early enough for some retailers.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

11 Comments

  1. Joe Williams
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 4:11 am | Permalink

    Yeah! Like the Xbox craze. Looks like Microsoft wants to sell out of those before Thanksgiving gets here.

    They are going for big bucks on Ebay now. One actually sold for $2400 on Ebay. There is one on sale for $98,000 as well.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Microsoft-XBOX-360-Premium-Bundle-SHIPS-NOW_W0QQitemZ8236290936QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

  2. Damoon
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 9:20 am | Permalink

    Bring on Xmas!!! It’s a nice distraction to everything else going on in the country right now.

  3. Gertie
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 11:35 am | Permalink

    When I was a kid we never saw ANYTHING about Christmas until Thanksgiving night — and we LIKED IT that way!! Leave the Christmas music for after Thanksgiving. Playing “White Christmas” right after Halloween doesn’t make me any more prone to start going on a Christmas shopping frenzy any more than playing “God Bless America” in April makes me want to celebrate Independence Day by setting off fireworks!

  4. Damoon
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    I think we should enjoy the Christmas Spirit all year long, it shouldn’t be about consumerism, but about giving, taking care of our fellow man, and peace on Earth.

  5. janabanana
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 7:06 pm | Permalink

    Christmas now starts on November 1st. Stores clear out the Halloween candy and put up the Christmas decorations. I am starting to find Christmas vulgar. I don’t like it anymore. My kids are way too spoiled. I would much rather go shopping for myself than get a bunch of stuff I don’t want.Christmas is always a let down. Either you don’t get what you want, or you get what you want and it makes you happy for 5 minutes. It is too much hype.When my kids leave the house, I am going to try my best to ignore it.I don’t need Christmas time for me to appreciate my friends and family. I am thankful for them always. I just feel like it is being shoved down my throat.

  6. Gertie
    Posted November 24, 2005 at 10:30 am | Permalink

    The sad thing is, that the commercialism of Christmas has overshadowed the true meaning of Christmas. As a Christian, Christmas is a very meaningful time of year for me (and spare me the whole debate about the real date of the birth of Christ… I know all about that). Celebrating the birth of Christ and all that it means is a wonderful way to overlook so much of the stupidity that comes along with the secular, commercialization of the Christmas season. This is a perfect time of year to be a giver, not a taker. The true spirit of Christmas is found in Christ, peace on earth, good will toward men.

  7. Jed
    Posted November 24, 2005 at 10:40 am | Permalink

    Christmas stopped being a christian holiday about 150 years ago. It’s now a capitalist holiday, co-opted by business, the same way the christians co-opted Yule from the pagans. As a winter holiday, it’s certainly gotten around, probably because winter is when we need one the most!

  8. Damoon
    Posted November 24, 2005 at 7:29 pm | Permalink

    Christmas is only commercial if you choose to make it that way. I have such wonderful Xmas memories as a child, there is no way I’m going to let that go because I’m an adult.I’m not a Christian, but I love the spirit of the season. I love celebrating the joy of giving and the gift of my family and friends. It’s such a wonderful time of year, I wish it lasted longer.

  9. Roo
    Posted November 25, 2005 at 7:47 am | Permalink

    I want to rip the Santa figure from Christmas. The feast of St. Nick is on Dec. 6. If you must give gifts, do it then. Leave Christmas as the time to enjoy togetherness, not on who gets what! I’d rather splurge on food and visiting relatives and friends, rather than staying up all night wrapping presents that will be forgotten in a month or two. Long live the Grinch!

  10. Damoon
    Posted November 25, 2005 at 8:37 pm | Permalink

    Oh, come on Roo! Santa is just too much fun! When you watch the joy on your little’s face when he opens his presents for the first time, you’ll love it!!!! Thanks for the pics, he’s a doll!

  11. Posted November 28, 2005 at 5:48 pm | Permalink

    Grinch alert! Grinch Alert!