A few weeks ago, I was walking through the West Covina mall and immediately felt that something was wrong. I couldn’t quite place it at first, but after taking in my surroundings, it all clicked.
I saw a commercial explosion of pine needles, reds, greens, silvers and golds, the unmistakable bustle of holiday shopping, and — could it possibly be — Christmas music?
Barely had November started, yet tinsel hung all around and Santa waited in the middle of the mall for children to pose for pictures on his lap.
These premature signs of Christmas constitute a phenomenon widely referred to as “Christmas Creep.” The day after Halloween, many retailers start bringing out their winter displays and swap pumpkins for peppermints and polar bears. Thanksgiving is overpowered by a drawn-out anticipation of late December.
Should it really come as a surprise that stores would skimp on Thanksgiving? Think about the distinct difference in focus between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Turkey Day is centered upon a feeling of thankfulness and fulfillment with already-existing blessings. Christmas is the classic season of giving. And giving means receiving, too. What can I buy? And what can others buy me?
There’s the rub. Retailers just don’t get much out of you being thankful for the things you already have. It’s much more lucrative to convince you that the season to spend starts as soon as possible.
In some ways, I understand the early Christmas celebration, especially as a college student. After all, waiting until after Thanksgiving break gives us only two weeks at school to celebrate, so why not get a jump start before Turkey Day? Besides, in the midst of being stressed from finals and away from family, it is all-too-tempting to seek a little premature comfort in the spirit of the season. That Michael Bublé Holiday Pandora station starts to sound pretty appealing, doesn’t it?
Many consumers complain about in-store rushing to the Christmas season. According to a 2012 survey done by mobile testing company SOASTA, 78 percent of adults say that stores should wait until after Thanksgiving to play Christmas music. Similarly, 75 percent believe that retailers shouldn’t decorate for the December holiday until Thanksgiving has passed.
According to a Time Magazine article, many retailers are locked in competition for consumer dollars, trying to get to shoppers’ wallets before they are lightened by seasonal spending. Stores like Macy’s, Kohl’s and Staples started sales by Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.
Not all retailers have followed this trend. Stores such as Costco and Marshalls opted to delay sales until Friday, a decision which a New York Times article explained was out of respect for the traditional values of the Thanksgiving holiday.
These values — thankfulness, contentment and a time of rest with loved ones — are skipped in the anxious race to the holiday season. We find ourselves counting down the days until Christmas with a mixture of delight and dread, sweating the school deadlines but craving the class-free days of December.
A verse that comes to mind amid the hurry of the holidays comes from Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Rather than rushing into the Christmas frame of mind, why not take time to appreciate each day as it comes?
This is not to say that a spirit of giving is bad; the generosity of the holidays is a wonderful phenomenon. It’s not a sin to go shopping, spend money and hit the sale racks on Black Friday. However, we shouldn’t let the frenzy of Christmas consumerism eclipse the practices of stillness and contentment. Just because Thanksgiving has passed does not mean we have to throw thankfulness aside.
Due to the pileup of academics, work and settling logistics for holiday travel, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be stressful. But taking time to be still and to rest in the Thanksgiving frame of mind is something that, for sanity’s sake, should not be skipped. I wonder what it would look like to think of December days not quantitatively but qualitatively, focusing not on how much time has passed, but how it is spent.