So, here we are on October 9, 2007; my husband and I leave the house for a couple of hours to get some grocery shopping done. In the car, my husband makes a joke "How much do you want to bet they have Christmas music playing?"
Our smiles at the joke diminished slightly as we pulled up to the WalMart parking lot - there they were, small Christmas trees tied to every light post in the lot. A large Santa in a snow bubble outside; a rather large train filled with Winnie the Pooh characters dressed for the season; and oh look, they're having a special on snow-makers (eh, I live in a desert, we get about 1/2 inch of snow every 5 years).
And as we parked the car and started heading into the store came the dreaded Christmas music.
Are you fucking kidding me? October 9, people! Samhain hasn't even come yet, and you're already trying to skip ahead to Christmas?
Once inside WalMart, you would have thought we entered a time warp or something. Christmas trees and decorations were everywhere. Well, except the one aisle that contained Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations and cards. Do these people even own a calendar?
I lightly popped my husband in the head as we skirted by most of the Christmas decorations... "You jinxed us." He laughed and followed me. We'd almost made it out of the Christmas section and into the sane section when we were stopped, quite abruptly, by a lady accepting donations for some Christmas function or other. "Would you care to donate? All proceeds go to....blah blah blah." I told her to come find me when the time was more appropriate.
Apparently, this caught the attention of a manager, or assistant manager. Whoever she was, she came over to ask if everything was okay. This caught me off guard since no voices were raised and certainly no derogatory remarks escaped my mouth. My husband tried very quickly to shut me up and claim every thing was fine. But I figured that since she'd asked, I'd take advantage of the situation and let her know how I felt...
"What is wrong with people when they need to exploit Christmas 3 months early? Whatever happened to the day after Thanksgiving marking the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It's not safe for us to go to the store in October now?"
She didn't get it. "What's your complaint? I suppose it's because we have Christmas trees instead of 'holiday' trees? Or maybe it's because we have signs that say 'Merry Christmas' instead of 'Seasons Greetings'?"
Hello... Even if she had heard me and listed my complaint accurately, I think I would have lost it just in the condescending tone she used at me. The fact that she was condescending and got everything ass-backwards just made it worse.
"You're joking right?" I replied in a rather monotoned voice..."You, who can't read a calendar, are stationed here to pick a fight in the "Merry Christmas' vs. 'Happy Holidays' war? So not only did you completely disregard two holidays in your hurry to start the war on Yule-time semantics, but you completely disregarded everything I said in your narrowminded quest to start this war. If you want to continue the fall of Christmas, have at it. The more you exploit that holiday - the more every other Winter holiday holds meaning to its followers."
And I truly believe that. Why fight them because they want their signs up? They obviously will not stop until Christmas has turned into nothing but a consumer holiday - and it's already well on the way to becoming that. Christians want to complain about the degredation of their "holiest" holiday - but then allow stores to proudly exploit it. Well, so long as Christmas is being exploited, my holiday is safe. My holiday holds meaning.
But I'm not sure what bothered me most; the fact that the decorations were up on October 9, or the fact that she accused me of fighting over semantics. Or the fact that her even being there ready to pounce on someone just in case they were bothered about semantics proves they are expecting a war over the signs. This implies that they're doing it purposely to see how many arguments and debates they can cause this year.
By all means, Christmas, keep your reigns over the retail stores. Have your signs. I'll gladly watch the news and laugh as Christmas is blamed for fights over limited-edition toys break out (like they do every year) and know proudly that as long as you fight to keep your signs up - no other holiday has to be bothered or degraded.
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I couldn't agree more. I hate the Christmas season! It used to be a fun time for me, but now with the war of semantics and the battle to find anything not related to Christmas has simply ruined the holiday for me. Christmas used to be special...what happened?
I used to laugh at people who said "I remember a time when....." but I always think that way about Christmas. I do remember a time when it was all about family and not the commerical crass they have now.
Ah morons.... they somehow restore my faith in humanity.
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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He also finds it hilarious that the store decorates for Christmas right at the beginning of October-- I walked into his department and all I saw was red everywhere like I'm transported into the future and it's december already....
I have to admit that Eid (the holiday after Ramadan) is an extremely big deal but I think that the month of Ramadan and fasting for 30 days gives us the right to enjoy that one day that we get at the end to just dress up and have fun by getting together with family and eating really good food..
It has though, like most holidays, become commercialized to the extent that in Pakistan the clothing stores make a lot of money because the tradition is to wear new clothes (if one has the money to afford buying them [pakistani traditional wear])
What's funny is that when we moved to US- ten years ago--no one used to celebrate Valentine's Day in Pakistan and when I visited about 2 years ago--it's become a big deal, basically and the greeting card and chocolate companies are making a killing.
"The good life, let's go on a living spree
Shit they say the best things in life are free" --*K A N Y E
http://www.progressiveu.org/231615-this-is-a-muslim-girls-plight
There have been Christmas decorations up in stores around here (Lexington, KY) since Mid-September. I love Halloween, it's my favorite day of the year; girls in slutty outfits and an excuse to scare the neighbors! I love it. And yet, in every store I run into (from Target to Garden Ridge) I am assaulted with images of Santa and his merry little Nut Crackers. I honestly wish stores would wait and put Christmas stuff up the first shoping day after Thanksgiving. No holiday should be celebrated for 25% of the year.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
I love Garden Ridge. It's like a drug.
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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Umm...sure? I cannot stand the place; there're too many smells. I've got terrible migraines (hence my massive caffiene addiction) and I get set off by sounds, smells, lights...it's a pretty shitty existance. And I'm allergic to basically everything. But if I need something out there, Garden Ridge tends to have it.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
The one here doesn't have a lot of smells, thankfully. I have really bad migraines as well. The smell of tar always sets them off.
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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Migraines... I started taking Topomax for those and it's a miracle drug. Seriously. Ask your doctor.
All the women in my family get bad migranes. My grandma was recently put on medication for them, and found out that it's a low dose of what they give epileptics (I can't remember what it's called, or I'd include the name). Because of the hereditary-seeming migranes, combined with the fact that I'm a total clutz, she wants me to get checked out for epilepsy, but I have no idea how to do that.
I'm pretty sure the medication you are talking about is Topomax. It is amazing. I suffered with migraines so bad it affected my life on a daily basis, and now I very rarely get them. You really should address it now if you think you have a problem; it can only help! Just ask your doctor or the clinic at school, they should be able to guide you to the right place.
I was on Topomax for several years. When it did work, it did wonders. But, we were having to combine it with Maxalt melts and toradol/vistareal (sp?) shots to keep the worst migraines under control. When I started having those more frequently, my neurologist stopped the topomax since it was no longer working like it was supposed too.
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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I haven't used Maxalt in awhile because it upsets my stomach. Usually I just have to suck it up when I do get a migraine, but the Topamax has made them much less frequent - yay! I read somewhere about a study wherein most migraines/ headaches are caused by chiropractic misalignment that can be corrected by a good chiropractor, but I don't think they've been able to prove it yet.
That's likely. I went to a chiropractor for migraines when I first started having them, but it didn't help me. I have a brain lesion and pseudo-tumor cerebri which is what they eventually decided was the root of mine. But, when my aunt has them, she goes to the chiropractor and gets work done and it seems to help her.
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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Actually, Caffeine could also be a bit of a cause of your migraines as well.
I'm also a horrible migraine sufferer...anything from smells to allergies, cheese, hot dogs, stress...you name it, I'll likely get a headache from it. I had found out not too long ago that often times, caffeine causes a migraine more than it helps it. As such, I actually cut it completely out of my diet. The first two months or so were hard, and I got many withdrawal headaches, as well as irritability and mood swings, but in the end it worked out. I've been caffeine free for 11 months now, and I don't nearly get as many migraines as I used to.
I started drinking the caffeine to prevent them. I didn't use to like soda or coffee, but I still got major migraines. Now, I drink large amounts of coffee and I don't get as many. However, everytime I forget to drink my coffee, I really notice it.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
What an amazing post... you echo my sentiments exactly. I think the day after Thanksgiving is too soon. This culture of commercialism is disgusting and I'm sick of it... and I'm tired of people pushing their religion on others. I love to learn about other cultures and religions... When others offer the information freely and openly without obligation is great. But this crazy stuff that you can't avoid, like CHRISTmas trees and the like everywhere... it's just ridiculous and it makes me crazy.
What happened to loving your family and appreciating the holiday for the respectable time period just like good Christians are supposed to? This gluttonous holiday that Christmas has become seems like a big fat hypocrisy to me. Just like the Vatican.
I work in a kid's clothing store at the mall, and we started our first holiday floorset on September 23rd. This means we've got all the cute little outfits, coats, boots, snowpants, etc., which we're selling in 80-degree weather. Ugh. It seems the retail industry is a little skewed - we sell fall stuff in summer, winter stuff in fall, spring stuff in winter, and summer stuff in spring. What happened to being able to just go to the store and buy what you need for the current season?
I totally understand. It's almost impossible to find a Halloween costume cause all everyone cares about is Santa and elves. But there may be hope. I was watching CNN(i think) yesterday and they were talking about how all these Christmas items are just sitting on the shelves because no one wants to buy them so early. Maybe this means retailers will start to slack off on all the holiday "cheer."
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It Changes
I Dance Naked Around A Tree At Midnight
"I've already been to Heaven, and after 5 minutes I was like 'let's go!'" --Liam Sullivan
I agree with this blog and all of the comments because it's way, way too early to start selling Christmas decorations, playing Christmas music, etc. because they should at least start doing those things after Thanksgiving.
That's really crazy.
I don't find myself having the time to go into many retail stores lately, but I do work in a grocery store (trust me, there is more to my life than that..) Right now we have decorations for Halloween. Then it will be Thanksgiving. Then it will be Christmas. That just makes sense.
I haven't been in Wal*Mart in a while, but the last time I was in there it was just bombarded with Halloween candy. I think that I might take a little visit though to see if this is becoming a nation-wide thing, or maybe just in general areas.
I do think that it is really stupid to the whole Christmas hype this early. Not only are you bypassing Holidays that mean a lot to families (Like Thanksgiving with the assumed family time) but they aren't getting ready to celebrate Christmas, they are getting ready to remind people it is time to shop....and since they already have their stuff up, then why not shop there.
I also think that the lady was really wrong with what she said. Obviously she didn't stop to ask if something was wrong because she really cared. I bet she was just looking for those people who rather have it be "Happy Holidays" and "Holiday Trees" and so automatically assumed you were one without even listening to what you were saying.
By the way I love that you said: "Christians want to complain about the degredation of their "holiest" holiday - but then allow stores to proudly exploit it."
That's pretty much the truth.
They do start way too early with the Christmas stuff!!! Pretty soon they will take Christmas in July literally. We will see christmas trees and decorations as early as July. lol
I love the Holiday season, as a whole. For me, this means Thanksgiving, Yule, Christmas and New Years. However, I don't want to see anything on any of them until AT LEAST November 1st. Halloween/Samhain is my second favorite holiday. I can get lost in the Halloween aisle for hours, let alone a Halloween Superstore. I can get just as lost in the Christmas section, however. I try not to even mention semantics with those that I know are going to be bullheaded about it. You say "Merry Christmas," I say "Happy Holidays." I don't say it because I'm Pagan; I say it because I want to wish you and your's a happy holiday season, not just the one holiday.
Media has taken hold of pretty much every holiday and exploited them. Some more than others. I try to just ignore it all and not waste energy on it. I try to remember what the true meaning is (at least for me).
Wonderful! I love the way you think about the holidays.
HAHAHA THATS SO TRUE I WAS JUST THERE A FEW HOURS AGO AND YOU'RE RIGHT THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE ALREADY THERE AND OF COURSE THE HALLOWEEN THINGS LOL
i agree. it's very upsetting that it's turned into a consumer's holiday, it's lost all of its meaning.
I agree to an extent. It's absolutely absurd to be pushing Christmas products this early in the year. The manager was extremely rude, especially in the fact that she did not even listen to the answer to the question she had asked. But either I don't entirely understand the comment "Christians want to complain about the degredation of their "holiest" holiday - but then allow stores to proudly exploit it."
Are you proposing that all Christians are endorsing the transformation of Christmas into a consumer's holiday? That, because they do not stage some sort of protest or some such that they are supporting this exploitation? What choice does the average person have? They can do no more than not purchase the items, if that's what they believe. What other alternative is there?
For the most part, I meant Christians as a whole, but I was mainly referring to those who seem the most vocal about the decline of "Christmas Spirit". They'll fight, quite actively, to be allowed to post their specific signs and say their greetings rather than generic signs and greetings of holiday merriment. They'll even go so far as to say it's a violation of their Freedom of Speech to not hang a sign that reads "Merry Christmas" instead of "Season's Greetings".
This same group will complain and blog about the exploitation of Christmas; they give interviews talking about it. But as we talk about here, sometimes discussion isn't enough. Boycotts are a start, sure. If none of the Christmas items ever sold before Thanksgiving, they wouldn't put them on display. And I don't mean to imply that all Christians endorse such retail exploitation; but inactivity and/or apathy isn't good either.
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"when you have nothing else to say, "Fwonk" is always the perfect thing."
"yeah well, fwonk"
--Devon
Fanaile Essence,
A-Team Member
Fortunately, my local WalMart is still fully decked out in Halloween gear. Not a speck of Thanksgiving or Christmas to be seen. This week.
Just be careful with it. It can also cause heightened anxiety and depression, so when you notice it's really not helping for the headaches, do some research into it and see if there is anything else that may help your migraines along with your prescribed medication.
I actually used to take Axert for mine for a short time, and it usually got rid of them within the hour(which is awesome concidering mine would last for days).
Just looking out for you. :)
Aww...I messed up with the reply button. I swear I pressed it.
Hahahahaha. I love it.
I probably would have done the same thing you did.
Oh, while you were in there, did you happen to see the Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph action figures in the kids aisle? (So much for non-exploitation, right? It's only that the Catholic Church is a billion dollar industry, but it's "all in good faith")
I would have bought every Thanksgiving decoration I could find.