When did it become "Thanks-mas?"

I'm just going to say it.

If there was a "dislike" button, I'd push it.

I don't like the TV networks and stores rushing me into the holiday season!

...and I'm not alone.

Yes.  I love Christmas.  I love the colder air and the feeling of being cozy inside your warm house fragranced by cinnamon apple candles.  I love the hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meals you tend to eat in the winter, and all of the stews, soups, goulashes, casseroles, and hybrids therein.  I love how romantic we all feel watching snow fall from the other side of a frosted window.

I love watching all of the traditional holiday programming on TV.  At 43 years old, I still make my hot chocolate and get my blanket (now it's asnuggie) and wait eagerly on the sofa to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Frosty's Winter Wonderland."  I love getting the family together to watch one of our all-time favorite Christmas movies "A Christmas Vacation," and now we all look forward to a new holiday classic "Elf." 

So, yes. I LOOOOOOOOOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!  I'm a maniac for the season!  I even go on treasure hunts through the house to find my gifts.  I can't seem to outgrow it ("it" being Christmas).

But, I also love Thanksgiving.

I love the first real chill in the air that causes you to crave tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  I love the display of autumn wreaths on doors and the smell of burning leaves and fireplaces.  I love the easy feeling of a long drive down a scenic road.  I love sweater weather and sitting outside at high school football games.

I love the planning that goes with Thanksgiving, like finding the perfect cocktail recipe and Turkey Day family games.  I love making the feast menu with my mom and pulling out the "special" dishes.  I love seeing the family dressed in their Thanksgiving's Best, standing in the kitchen trying to sneak a crumb or a steal whole turkey leg.  I love it when the parents or grandparents let you taste something they're working on. 

But those feelings are not the same when the TV and radio are playing holiday entertainment and it's 70 degrees outside.  Some of the joy of Thanksgiving is stolen when, before the dinner is finished, people are talking about carpooling to the mall for early Black Friday shopping.

Instead of getting the urge to play in big stacks of leaves, you're getting the urge to buy and display holiday decorations.  The seasons misalign and you spend the holidays feeling rushed.  You forget to take that drive or go apple-pickin'.  No one will play football in the front yard on a cold, crisp day.  In my day, you spent the fall season enjoying all of those things and getting excited for the holiday season.

So, to the retail giants and media moguls I say, don't worry so much about making money.  Be the reason why so many families are making memories and respect the traditions.  "Yule" be better remembered.

~O