The Commercialism of the Holidays: Here's to "Hallo-Thank-Mas"

I guess you've noticed this phenomenon, at least you have if you're older than, let's say 25; otherwise you're probably too busy tweeting, texting, and playing games on your Smartphone to notice anything that's happening in the world. What I'm referring to is how the holidays now all run together, overlapping so that you aren't sure exactly what you're celebrating. Moreover, it seems that with each year that passes, this blending of the holidays becomes even more pronounced, so that you don't really enjoy any of them, at least not like in the past. They're all just one big blur.

Google Images (2014)

For example, here in Lafayette, the stores started putting out Halloween decorations and candy at the end of August (Good thing most candy will last forever); then around mid-September the shelves were stocked with Thanksgiving decorations, paper plates, napkins, and other "foo-fahs," as my mama called them; and approximately three weeks ago, I noticed the first displays of Christmas decorations, artificial trees, home decor items, etc. Of course, now, three weeks later, Christmas "stuff" far outnumbers the "stuff" for Halloween and Thanksgiving, even though  Christmas is still two months away. 

I ask you, who in the heck wants to think about Christmas before Thanksgiving, let alone before Halloween? Maybe you do, but I sure don't. Of course, regardless of how we feel, we all realize, at least subconsciously, that the reason why we are no longer allowed to savor a holiday can be summed up in one word--commercialism. Businesses want to capitalize off the holidays as much and as long as possible, and by stocking the shelves earlier each year, they can sell even more stuff to us, the consumers, and we, the consumers, are being taken in by this ploy. And that brings me to the point of this blog: the good old days.

The Good-Old Days When You Enjoyed Each Holiday

Things were different back when my siblings and I were growing up in the small town of Fairburn, Georgia (It was small then, at least). The holidays were distinct and separate, and no one even considered thinking about one until the other was long over. 

Google Images (2014)

First came Halloween. Not that the stores on Main Street (that's where all the main stores were located) promoted Halloween to any extent. For one, people back then didn't decorate their homes with giant spiderwebs, headless mannequins, or tombstones, etc. The most anyone did was carve a pumpkin, usually one from their own garden, into a jack-o'-lantern and maybe stick a candle in it. As for costumes, well, the stores didn't sell them. People made their own. 

In fact, Vicki, Bud, and I made our own costumes. One year, for example, my brother and I pilfered two pairs of Daddy's white long-johns (Vicki didn't make it a threesome because she thought Bud and I were idiots); and we used black ink pens to draw ribs and other bones on the long-johns, dusted our faces with flour to make ourselves look all pale and spooky, and went trick-or-treating as skeletons (We wondered why folks were laughing). Daddy wasn't exactly impressed, and believe you me, Mama had a heck of time getting the black ink out of those long-johns. Plus, she didn't appreciate our wasting perfectly good flour. The point, though, is that we enjoyed Halloween, and the last thing on our minds was Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas.

Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving did eventually roll around, however, and it was a holiday unto itself. If Mama and Daddy couldn't afford to buy a turkey, which was usually the case, we had a plump hen for dinner (Hens were free since we had our own chickens). Moreover, prior to the big "eating" day, we kids would collect pecans from around the trees between our house and Aunt Pat's  so Mama could make pecan pies. We also had candied yams made with sweet potatoes from our garden, along with home-grown peas, corn, and other veggies that Mama had canned during the summer. I think the only thing "store-bought" that we had for Thanksgiving was the cranberry sauce (the kind you buy in a can and slice), although I do recall Mama serving brown-and-serve rolls with the meal. 

The highlight of Thanksgiving, though, wasn't really the food, at least not for us kids; it was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We would turn on the TV to one of its three channels (We did this by hand since there were no remotes) and watch in awe as the floats, bands, and clowns made their way down 6th Avenue in the Big Apple (That's New York City). Sometimes it would even be snowing in New York, which added a special festive air to the spectacle. Of course, what we were really waiting for was the "Big Moment" when Santa would appear in a sleigh drawn by his eight tiny reindeer--make that nine when Rudolph was included. Santa was so jolly and fat, and he would wave at the bystanders as he laughed his hearty "Ho, ho, ho." Oh, how Bud, Vicki, and I loved seeing Santa, even in black-and-white, since we didn't have a color set. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone had a color set back then, except perhaps some really rich folks, maybe the town doctor and dentist, though maybe even really rich folks didn't have color sets either, because I don't think they had yet been invented and, therefore, were still but a gleam in some mad scientist's eye.   

Christmas Decorations

Santa's sleigh ride down 6th Avenue heralded the beginning of the Christmas season, but it really didn't get wound up to full throttle until the arrival of the Sears and Roebuck Christmas Catalog. Oh, how Bud, Vicki, and I looked forward to seeing that glossy, treasure-filled testament to hedonistic covetousness arrive in the mail. Its pages were magical. They held all the wonders of the world. There were dolls, electric trains, doll houses, tea sets, Davy Crockett coonskin caps, Mickey Mouse toys, teddy bears, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' ranches, and page after page after page of mouth-watering chocolates and other delightful confections. There were, of course, also clothes, but what kid paid them any mind? And every day after school, Bud, Vicki, and I would race into the house, change our clothes, do our homework, complete our chores, and have an after-school snack--all at warp speed--so we could sit around the coal-burning stove in the living room and peruse all the treasures in that magical book. 

So see, there actually was a time when the holidays were each special and celebrated with no thought whatsoever given to the next holiday. Upcoming holidays were to be anticipated, yes, but not allowed to infringe upon the present holiday. (Hmm, did that make sense?) 

Anyway, since things are different in today's world, I think the government, or whoever makes such monumental decisions, should institute a new holiday that combines all current holidays into one holiday, since that's what has happened anyway. For example, instead of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, we could have "Hallo-Thank-Mas." Hey, and while they're at it, the powers-that-be could establish "Valen-Pats-Ter" or "Val-Eas-Pats" (a blend of Valentine's Day, Easter, and St. Patrick's Day); and what about "Ma-Pa-Fourth" (Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the Fourth of July)? Of course, there are additional holidays to consider, like New Year's Day, Mardi Gras, Martin Luther King's Day, Labor Day, etc., so they would have to decide how to combine those holidays as well. 

Then again, why not simplify the matter and create one big holiday that incorporates them all and lasts all year long? It could be called "Eve-King-Pats-Eas-Mardi-Ma-Pa-Fourth-Labor-Hallo-Thank-Mas Day." Stores would display the decorations for this holiday all year long, people would be shopping continuously, kids would be OD-ing on candy, corporations would be raking in even greater profits, and stockholders everywhere would be ecstatic. Ah, to borrow from Voltaire, it would be "the best of all possible worlds."

And that's my blog for tonight.