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Holiday
Creep
By Cassandra Wentworth
It was a chilly fall
day a few years ago in Downtown Pittsburgh, with a slight drizzle
dripping from the sky as I made my way to a job interview. My
lightweight jacket kept the wind out, but I picked up my step
anyway to get there on time.
As I rounded the
corner at Market Square, I was brought to an abrupt halt by a
sight so surprising, I had to do a double-take. There before me
stood a towering triangle of greenery, complete with multi-colored
bulbs and a shining star.
It was the second
week of October, and the Market Square Christmas tree had already
returned to its circle of ice in the middle of PPG Place.
Mouth agape, I looked
around to catch the glances of fellow passersby, whom I expected
to be as bewildered as me. But no – people strolled alongside
this out-of-season anomaly with barely a second look. What was
going on here? Did I Quantum Leap without realizing it? Was it
actually December? Did I miss my interview?
The fact is that, for
most people, it’s no longer a shock to see reminders of
Christmas while your air conditioner is still in your living room
window. It seems that as soon as back-to-school pencil boxes and
book bags are removed from store shelves, out come strands of
shiny garland, silky tinsel, and Technicolor tree bulbs. And once
that Halloween candy is gone, Thanksgiving doesn’t stand a
chance— it’s just a discolored gourd in a pumpkin patch
compared to the retail powerhouse that is Christmas.
Holiday creep is not
exclusive to stores, however, it’s everywhere — in your
neighbor’s decorations that come up a week after Halloween, in
the “Season’s Greeting” signs that communities hang on lamp
posts by the first day of fall and perhaps most blatantly, on the
radio, where “White Christmas” starts it’s annual run
roughly five seconds after the last piece of Thanksgiving turkey
is wrapped with foil.
Now, I love
Christmas. And while I don’t feel the need to start celebrating
while I’m still cleaning up from my Labor Day barbecue, maybe it
makes sense that some people do. In these fast-paced, stressful
days, perhaps the holiday season is a beacon of normalcy and
positivity. And if a little eggnog in October is what they need to
get by, so be it. Just don’t drink too much of it before taking
the kids trick-or-treating.
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