First, Thanksgiving has now become lost in the shuffle-- just another day to eat and the beginning of the shopping frenzy.
Second, a long Christmas season diminishes the experience. More is not necessarily better.
Get ready. Here comes a "geezer" moment.
When I was a kid, most people didn't turn on their lights until mid December. Part of the reason for that was to save money. Back in the day, outdoor Christmas light strings consisted of bulbs that were bigger than your thumb. They threw a lot of heat and sucked a lot of power. I'm surprised there weren't more fires.
Anyway, a favorite pre holiday activity for my little friends and I was to wander about town, looking at house decorations and lights, and discussing amongst ourselves how things looked. Most homes, including mine, went the multi colored route. Some did just red and green lights. A few used just blue and green. My friends didn't care for that last one. I did. It was different. Remember, this was the time before those tiny, twinkly clear lights, and long, long before icicle lights. Those inflatable monstrosities were decades in the future.
We have more decorations these days, and they're visible earlier in the year. Unfortunately, the Christmas season has lost a lot of its charm.
