Nothing says Christmas more than the annual barrage of Christmas carols that show up around Thanksgiving time and quickly vanish, come New Years Day. No sooner has the Thanksgiving turkey been properly basted and put in the oven, the annual barrage of Christmas carols on radio and TV has already begun, not to mention the annual barrage of Black Friday ads (please excuse me for the barrage of barrages). “Black Friday,” of course, refers to the first day of the year that many retailers are finally propelled out of the “Red Ink,” profit wise, and into the “Black.”
Then there’s “Red Wednesday,” the day when retailers keep their doors open until midnight, hoping to get out of the Red. But that’s not all; following Red Wednesday is a day I like to call “Greedy Thursday,” when many major retailers stay open on Thanksgiving Day so retailers can get an early start to Black Friday.
But wait, there’s more! Now we have “Cyber Monday,” when folks log onto their computers at work to order merchandise from Internet websites. This, of course, is great for online retailers, but not so good for the brick and mortar, mom and pop retailers, not to mention ripping off their employer by getting paid while they shop at work.
Next, comes my favorite day of the week…“Taco Tuesday!” And let us not forget “Small Business Saturday,” following Thanksgiving, when folks are encouraged to support their local retailer by shopping locally, a good idea that I wholeheartedly endorse.
This year, many merchants are so desperate for our business that they not only began their barrage (that dreaded word again) of holiday sales promotions the day after Halloween, but they will be stretching out their Black Friday sales promotions for over three weeks. This phenomenon, sometime referred to as “Holiday Creep,” is downright creepy and only demonstrates that some retailers are out to outdo one another in gaining a head start on holiday shopping.
Auntie Rhea and I enjoyed seeing all of you at last week’s Blue Jay Christmas parade, and we hope to see you shopping at our local retailers, because it helps keep the mountain Green.
Anyway, nothing gets me in the mood for Christmas more than a good Christmas carol: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. Take a look at the five and ten, glistening once again with candy canes and silver lanes aglow. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, toys in every store, but the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door. (“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” – Bing Crosby, 1951 – Johnny Mathis, 1986)
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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