Well, just three more weeks til we start hearing Christmas music on the radio…just kidding. Maybe.
Truth of the matter is, I don’t know when we’ll start hearing Christmas music on the radio.
Last year, I chronicled the early appearance of Christmas related items. It was a glorious saga, epic in scope and scale (if I do say so myself).
These “wartime” reports chronicled the conflicts of the holidays and were called “Battlefield: Christmas.”
Every year is the same in that Christmas apparel and paraphernalia seems to come out earlier and earlier.
Now, I’m not going to return to the journalistics logs of “Battlefield: Christmas,” but I will make a comment on one thing that I noticed this week; I consider it a sort of public service announcement.
This week I was at a drugstore, either a CVS or a Walgreens – I can’t remember. I was troubled however, by the fact that I saw they were selling Christmas themed treats and goodies.
Mind you, here at the Xavierite we write our articles a few days before we go to print. I have written this article on Thursday on October 17 – a full two weeks before Halloween.
I know that many of the regular non-treats and goodies found in all our major stores are heavily processed and contain a lot of preservatives so I shouldn’t be surprised that the Christmas ones contain the same preservatives – if not even more? No. I probably shouldn’t. I’m a big boy and I should be hip to the ways of the world by now.
I don’t know what it is, though. For some reason the fact that the Christmas treats are heavily manufactured bothers me tremendously.
Whenever I think of Christmas – particularly the treats – I think of a warm, inviting holiday. The treats, at least in my house, are always made with love…and lotsa frosting!
It seems like betrayal that these manufactured treats aren’t made with the same love that I and my family put in to making our own gingerbread men, fudge, and various cookies. God…that sounds so naïve as I write it.
But I don’t think I’m alone. If I asked you if you wanted to eat Christmas treats that were heavily manufactured and processed with harmful preservatives and multifarious chemicals that most are unsure truly aren’t just poison with a different name.
It seems counter-Christmas to me…whatever that means.
I guess what I mean to say is that it’s the spirit of it all that counts. Those store brand cookies are missing the most important ingredient…the love.
(Yes, I know that love is not a real ingredient in cookies or any baked treat for that matter, but once again…it’s the spirit of it all that counts.)
Normally I try to wrap up my columns with some sort of snappy zinger and wrap it all up in a neat little bow (much like a Christmas present…eh?).
However, the best piece of advice that I can give at the end of this column is to be weary of store bought Christmas goodies for the simple reason that they are not fresh or can be good for you in any possible way because they’re put out while there is still Halloween candy on the shelf.
I don’t even think that I have to bring up the age-old argument of how stores bring out Christmas paraphenalia before Halloween has even concluded…but I will.
Jeez Louise! This stuff just keeps coming earlier and earlier. I understand why stores like K-Mart, Target and Wal Mart advertise for lay-away shopping.
But why do stores like Walgreens and CVS put out Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving has come to pass?
Their profit margins probably aren’t dependant on selling Christmas items during the months of November and December.
Their profits are made from the sales from the everyday items we buy from those stores almost every day.
I also don’t think I’ve ever seen or met anyone who thought, “You know…this Halloween candy looks so good. I think I’ll buy a gingerbread house and a box of Christmas fudge too!”
Brian Laughran
Senior Viewpoints Editor
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