It’s a Friday night in November.  Too cold to walk around in the brisk fall weather, but warm enough to step outside without wearing five layers of clothing. You hop in the front seat of your car in a jean jacket as your friends climb into the back.  Suddenly, you realize you forgot your iPod in the house and now are stuck shifting through the radio stations in search of a good song.  95.5 playing Someone Like You…too slow.  96.3, The Lazy Song…too old.  98.7…commercials.  You’re running out of options and finally get to 100.3 playing none other than I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  Christmas songs?  Already?  What has the world come to?

Alright, so let’s get this straight. Halloween just passed and Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away.  Why in the world would they already be playing Christmas music on the radio?  For enjoyment?  Maybe, but highly unlikely.

It comes down to one thing.  Advertising.  The more the Christmas season is publicized, the more listeners will be forced to think about the presents they have to buy for their family and friends.  With the jolly old St. Nick tunes come the advertisements for toys and products that are cheaper than ever this year (which of course is not always the case).  But any salesperson would argue with that one and say that any “practical” mother would buy gifts early in the season.

But isn’t the point of Christmas is that it only comes once a year?  Not two months in advance.

“I think it ruins the whole hype of Christmas,” says senior Lindsey Tartaglia.  “I don’t want to be hearing Christmas tunes two months before the actual holiday.  It makes me think it’s closer than it really is.”

Moral of the story: let’s not get ahead of ourselves and try to stick to one holiday at a time.