(no subject)

[hatman]

I've been seeing Christmas all over the place this month. Macy's has had a nook with a tree and all since the beginning November. One of the local radio stations has been on an all-Christmas playlist for some time now. I've been seeing Christmas ads on TV since before Halloween. And I live in New Jersey, where there's no shortage of Jews, and there are healthy and growing populations of Muslims and Hindus, too.

It used to be that Christmas season started in mid-December or so. Then it expanded to encompass the rest of the month. I'd almost gotten used to the idea of its inescapable presence for six weeks starting at the end of Thanksgiving. But now it's spread to all of November and seems to have a decent foothold in October.

I don't want to quash your celebration, but I don't like having it crammed down my throat. Just about everyone has some kind of holiday around winter solstice time. It'd be nice if we all acknowledged that variety together, in its proper time. But instead we have this ever-spreading monocultural commercialized juggernaut.

From where I'm standing, there's no war on Christmas. Christmas has declared war on the rest of the calendar, and it seems to be winning.

Comments

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I'm sending a copy of this to Bill O'Rielly. And I tried sending something of the sort (a longer, less belligerent version of that last paragraph, in defense of "Happy Holidays") as a letter to the editor of the local (and notably Christian Right) Florida paper. (It didn't get printed.) But the NYT... worth a shot. Wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks (for the idea and the encouragement). :)