It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Nothing says Christmas more than the annual barrage of Christmas carols that show up around Thanksgiving time and then quickly vanish on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. What, you don’t celebrate Boxing Day? It’s a national holiday in England and Canada so you can put away all those empty boxes sitting next to the Christmas tree.
No sooner than the Thanksgiving turkey has been properly basted and placed into the oven, the annual barrage of Christmas carols on radio and TV has already begun, not to mention the barrage of Black Friday ads. “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 ‘til 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 shoppers 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 good for retailers, but not so good for your productivity at work. Next comes my favorite day of the week, “Taco Tuesday.”
Let us not forget “Small Business Saturday,” following Thanksgiving, when folks are encouraged to support their local retailers by shopping locally, a good idea that I wholeheartedly endorse.
This year, the merchants are so desperate for our business that many of them not only began their holiday sales promotions the day after Halloween, but they will be stretching out their Black Friday sales promotions for over three weeks. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as “holiday creep,” is downright creepy and only demonstrates that some retailers are greedy and out to outdo one another in gaining a head start on holiday shopping. And since when is it called “holiday” shopping and not “Christmas” shopping?
Nothing gets me in the mood for Christmas more than a good Christmas carol. One of my all-time favorites is by Johnny Mathis.
“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.”
I hope I haven’t offended anyone with all this talk about Christmas carols. Nowadays, you’re supposed to refer to them as “Holiday Favorites.” You can’t even wish someone a Merry Christmas anymore. Instead, it’s considered politically correct to say “Happy Holidays.”
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Soon the bells will start, and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing right within your heart.”
Keep it flyin’, Uncle Mott