{"id":24157,"date":"2016-06-21T09:49:01","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T15:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/?p=24157"},"modified":"2016-06-21T09:54:50","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T15:54:50","slug":"the-christmas-creep-free-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/the-christmas-creep-free-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Creep Free Zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

For weeks now we\u2019ve been receiving word \u2013 Christmas<\/a> is out in many stores. <\/p>\n

Summer arts and craft festivals feature Christmas<\/a> goodies, artists are recording holiday albums in studios, and later this week the world marks Leon Day \u2013 the halfway point to Christmas<\/a>. Hallmark is releasing their catalog of new Christmas<\/a> ornaments and the cable shopping channels are gearing up for hours and hours of \u201cChristmas-in-July\u201d. <\/p>\n

Christmas<\/a>, it seems, is everywhere. <\/p>\n

But something is missing. Do you know what it is?<\/p>\n

It is the absence of complaint. <\/p>\n

It is the silence of un-merry dissent. <\/p>\n

It is the non-cry of the unsettled, uncomfortable-with-early Christmas<\/a> citizen. <\/p>\n

Welcome to the Christmas<\/a> Creep-free Zone, friends. Enjoy this while it lasts. <\/p>\n

Christmas<\/a> in America traditionally means a season of contrasting expression. You have the religious Christmas<\/a> celebrant versus the secular Christmas<\/a> fanatic. <\/p>\n

There is the holiday whacko against the holiday grump. <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll hear arguments between those who think Christmas<\/a> comes too early versus those who prefer it every day.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not there yet. Right now there is an odd very Christmas-like thing going on: it is called peace<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Christmas<\/a> Creep-free Zone is in full force and between now and the end of July. Christmas<\/a> will have a free-for-all — and there will be little complaint about it. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the Grinches, Scrooges, and morally indignant among us won\u2019t be on their Christmas<\/a> game for at least another month. <\/p>\n

But come August 1st \u2013 look out. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the first reports of \u201cChristmas creep\u201d really start to roll in. <\/p>\n

A news reporter will roll into Sears or Costco and see Christmas<\/a> stacked everywhere \u2013 and then write a scathing essay about \u201cChristmas creep\u201d. In some places, the TV stations will send out a reporter for a \u201clive update\u201d. (No, we\u2019re not kidding). <\/p>\n

But the battle is really just warming up. <\/p>\n

Starbucks and other outlets will begin to sell \u201cpumpkin spice\u201d goodies in August. <\/p>\n

Pumpkin is usually associated with the fall months but it is really, in its evil way, just a precursor to Christmas<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As the air wafts with the aroma of pumpkin-spice everything the slumbering anti-Christmas forces will rally. And for at least four long months \u2013 longer than Christmas<\/a> really lasts \u2013 they will cry in agony about Christmas<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The pattern is the same every year. <\/p>\n

August is the time to complain about Costco, Sam\u2019s Club, Hobby Lobby (which has really had Christmas<\/a> out since May), Kmart, Sears and others who fill emptying garden spaces with Christmas<\/a> merchandise. <\/p>\n

September is when the first commercials touting holiday layaway programs in places like Walmart and Kmart surface. These really raise the ire of Christmas<\/a> party poopers. <\/p>\n

October is Christmas-versus-Halloween Season \u2013 when complaints that Christmas<\/a> is overshadowing Halloween<\/a> are very much in fashion. <\/p>\n

Yes, Halloween<\/a> is just a day while Christmas<\/a> lasts for weeks but that\u2019s no reason to be selling lights<\/a> and blow mold snowmen, they will argue.<\/p>\n

Then comes November 1st, the Queen Mother of days to complain about Christmas<\/a> creep. <\/p>\n

Radio<\/a> stations everywhere now boldly flip the switch to Christmas<\/a> music while at the same time radio<\/a> talk show hosts take to the air to complain about it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an outrage!\u201d they will claim. <\/p>\n

(What they really mean is that November and December are ratings nightmare season for radio<\/a> talk show hosts because people would rather hear the cheery sounds of the season over their blow-hard opinions). <\/p>\n

As the malls start to hang the garlands and light their trees newspapers will take pictures and mock.<\/p>\n

On social media the anti-Christmas forces will post clever memes and pass petitions to \u201csave Thanksgiving\u201d from the evil clutches of retailers who demand Christmas<\/a> now. <\/p>\n

Even as stores post weeks-before-Thanksgiving \u201cblockbuster\u201d deals in advance of Black Friday consumer websites and magazines, political commentators who no longer have an election to drone on about, and even some parent support groups will universally complain about the commercialism of Christmas<\/a> and how it can all wait until December. <\/p>\n

In recent years a subset of complaint features a naughty list of sorts: stores that decorate for Christmas<\/a> before Thanksgiving<\/a> are criticized while stores that refuse to put up Christmas<\/a> decorations<\/a> until after Thanksgiving<\/a> are praised. <\/p>\n

In this light Nordstrom\u2019s will be talked about like the Second Coming of Abraham Lincoln. Nary a Christmas<\/a> bauble will be found in their windows before Thanksgiving<\/a>. But don\u2019t be fooled. It\u2019s all there, behind a plain paper wrapping and a snotty sign declaring \u201cWe celebrate our holidays one day at a time!\u201d. It stays that way for days \u2013 until, of course, Thanksgiving<\/a> finally ends and they rip it off to great fanfare. Oh, the humanity of it all. <\/p>\n

Some who weary of this routine think, \u201cThank goodness Thanksgiving<\/a> comes to release us from all this negativity!\u201d, but no \u2013 there is no mercy. <\/p>\n

In reality the Christmas<\/a> complainers are just getting started.<\/p>\n

First, there are the anti-God billboards in Times Square and around the country to put up with. The post-Thanksgiving time frame is, well, Christmas<\/a> season for those who oppose organized religion to, well, organize in a sense and proselyte. Using images sacred to believers they will say it is ok to celebrate Christmas<\/a> without God. It\u2019s an odd bit of anti-Christmas noise to endure every season. <\/p>\n

Then, somewhere, a school music teacher will have the nerve to put \u201cSilent Night\u201d into a school Christmas<\/a> performance. An anonymous letter will be written to the school board, somehow Fox News will hear about it, the pundits will cry for weeks that Christmas<\/a> is under attack, but they\u2019ll just replace \u201cSilent Night\u201d with \u201cFrosty the Snowman\u201d and the world will go on \u2013 somehow. <\/p>\n

By now, it\u2019s December and you\u2019d think everyone would just shut up and enjoy the season. <\/p>\n

No. Not on your merry life. <\/p>\n

There will be nativity scenes on courthouse lawns to complain about. Then there\u2019s the out-of-stock situation on the hottest toy or video game of the season (no doubt, it\u2019s Star Wars themed). And, of course, singing Christmas<\/a> carols in veteran hospitals will rear its ugly head yet again. <\/p>\n

Finally, a week before Christmas<\/a> it all dies down. After all, it\u2019s Christmas<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So enjoy the next six weeks. This is really when the season of anticipating Christmas<\/a> begins. For many, it comes at the height of summer. For others, it is the dead of winter. After all, Christmas<\/a> is worldwide. And everyone enjoys peace<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For weeks now we\u2019ve been receiving word \u2013 Christmas is out in many stores. Summer arts and craft festivals feature Christmas goodies, artists are recording holiday albums in studios, and later this week the world marks Leon Day \u2013 the halfway point to Christmas. Hallmark is releasing their catalog of new Christmas ornaments and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","iawp_total_views":11,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,28,2,20],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-24157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-countdown","category-christmas-features","category-christmas-news","category-christmas-opinion","tag-christmas-creep"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}