Does Christmas Mean Nothing?

For weeks and weeks there is anticipation, a natural build up, an excitement, leading up to Christmas.  The holiday season, so to speak, starts in September and ends December 26th.  In September school stuff makes way to fall and Halloween.  Actually, I think I'm wrong.  I think it starts in August.  We buy fall colored garland and scarecrows and skulls and candy and transition from fall Halloween to fall Thanksgiving.  More garland, more pumpkins and the big lead to Black Friday. 

Black Friday has tons of hype.  Black Friday ads are "leaked" to build anticipation and to get shoppers ready for the mother of all holidays.  Christmas.  People line up in front of stores weeks before the day after Thanksgiving so they can be the first in line to get the coveted item of the year.  Every year at least one person is trampled, beat up, dies of a heart attack or stabbed at a store all in the name of getting a good deal.  Ba-humbug!  Now stores are opening ON Thanksgiving Day to entice shoppers to part with more money and, in my opinion, to part with their sanity. 

This year at Thanksgiving I actually felt joy and anticipation and down right giddy about Christmas coming.  I drove my family crazy playing Christmas music starting the day after Thanksgiving.
The weekend of I had my tree up and the decorations exactly as I wanted them.  A few days later Steve had the front yard exactly as we wanted it.  I bought, I wrapped, I baked bought goodies.  I opted out of the office Christmas party and the Secret Santa and I felt good about it!  Not that I don't like doing that kind of thing.  I really do.  But I wanted to just relax and feel the wonderfulness of the season and not be stressed and under pressure to accomplish all these things, to add one more thing to my already crowded plate.  And relax I did.  No pressure, no fuss, no muss. 

Christmas Day arrived and we opened gifts.  In my family, rather than the ripping and shredding of paper all at once and a manic, unappreciative free-for-all, we take turns and each person opens one gift at a time.  We're a pretty quiet foursome now that the boys are older.  I like it.  It was relaxed and peaceful and really brought home not only the "reason for the season" but the reason for the season. 

And then...

The day after Christmas.  Almost as bad as the day after Thanksgiving in terms of shoppers.  But, what I noticed more and what really bothered me was that it seemed like Christmas had never even happened.  Going out that next day I noticed everything Christmas related was shoved into a small section with people grabbing and clawing and crowding the aisles to get the 50% off crap that no one wanted to begin with.  All to make way for HEARTS AND SILK FLOWERS!!  Yes, now we can start buying for Valentines Day starting the day after Christmas.  Like Christmas meant nothing.  Here one day and gone the next, to be forgotten until fall again.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see nicer, slower transition between holidays.  Do we really need hearts and red wrapped chocolate boxes on December 26th?

I for one, would like a little time to mourn the passing of the Christmas spirit.