Last week, I bought my first gallon of eggnog for this year. Now that Halloween has come and gone, it’s time for the more mushy holidays of the year. It’s no longer a surprise to anyone that the winter holiday season begins earlier and earlier every year. Besides, it makes sense. Since the lion’s share of retail business is done during the holiday season, those corporate bastards who run this country would be stupid not to milk the holiday season for everything it’s worth.
Holiday movies come out in late summer/early fall. Stores put up holiday displays sometimes before Halloween is over. And, of course, there are the catalogs. The holiday season is the one time of year when the number of catalogs sent to my roommate “Current Resident” almost matches the number of credit card offers in my mailbox. You know it’s just a matter of time before someone thinks to bundle catalogs with credit cards for our convenience.
I don’t mind the commercialization of the holidays because I never really took it that seriously in the first place. I figure I have control over how commercial I allow the holidays to be. Since we live in a capitalist society, there are always going to be people around using whatever angle they can to make a buck. The choice we each have to make is how much of an influence that commercialization will become in our own celebrations.
Personally, I pick somewhere right about in the middle. I don’t take a vow of poverty during the winter months, but neither do I max out my credit cards with goodies from a catalog. Besides, commercial holidays are just less controversial than religious holidays. Every year around this time, a handful of controversies spring up about holiday displays containing religious iconography. From my job choice, it’s obvious that I’m somewhat drawn to controversy. However, the types of controversies surrounding holiday displays never appealed to me.
These controversies take what’s supposed to be a happy, celebratory time and turn it into a showdown between the forces of good and evil. Can’t we all just go the mall instead of duking it out? There will always be another battle to fight. For now, can’t we bring the troops to winter quarters and resume the culture wars when the weather is nicer? Maybe that’s asking to much.
Another reason I don’t mind holiday commercialization is precisely because it’s the commercialization that stretches out the season. I know there are plenty of people who don’t like the winter holidays. I can understand that. For someone dealing with loss or grief, the holidays can be a painful reminder of that loss. Add the dreary weather into the mix and you have a recipe for depression.
Some of the most traumatic events of my life are associated with the winter holidays. However, instead of using the holidays to remind myself of it, I like to use the holidays to distract myself from the trauma – and there’s never a shortage of distraction in this country. It’s the same with the weather for me. I hate the winter weather – I absolutely hate it. However, during the holiday season, the terrible weather is romanticized and spun as a positive. I want to kiss the marketing geniuses who thought up the song “Winter Wonderland” or “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” What kind of mind does it take to turn awful weather into something every kid wishes for? It’s brilliant, I say.
So during November and December, we’re idealizing the awful weather. Then, when the holidays are over, you look around and fall is gone while winter is already one-third over. In my case, my birthday is in February, so the only bad-weather month in which I don’t have a celebration to look forward to is January. Unless of course you count New Year’s Day, which I don’t because it’s only purpose is to give us a chance to recover from New Year’s Eve.
Anyway, I guess my point is just that in addition to choosing which holidays to celebrate and which traditions to keep, families and individuals this year will also have to decide what level of commercialization they will allow into their holiday experience. Commercialization is a part of our shared culture – our collective traditions. You can have a lot or a little, but you can’t avoid it completely. So make your choice and be happy with it.

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