AMY SALISBURY
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

Seven out of ten Americans claim Christmas as their favorite holiday according to an Associated Press poll.

Well, that poll was conducted in 1981.

Sorry if that mislead you. However, I feel a little mislead by inferred holiday statistics, too.

Apparently, 100 percent of Americans begin celebrating Christmas before Halloween. At least, that’s what retailers seem to claim. Some stores’ Christmas layaway began in October; so of course, the deals begin by then. Of course, your family has a large Christmas list, so you’d better get a head start.

Christmas trees in shopping malls light up. Advertisements for Black Friday flood cable TV before stores are fully stocked with Christmas inventory. Starbucks infiltrates their thousands of stores with lovely red cups, seasonal music and delicious eggnog and peppermint-flavored coffees—all by Nov. 1.

The power of commercial suggestion is truly undeniable: spend, spend, spend. As obvious as profit margins are, who would want to deny Christmas because of that?

Traditionally, the 12 days of Christmas started Dec. 25 and went until Jan. 5. Christmas trees went up on Christmas Eve because it’s difficult to keep a live tree healthy and lush indoors for a month—thus the introduction of fake trees. Germanic tradition dictated the use of flame-lit candles and food to decorate the tree, but the food will spoil after days and one can’t keep a flame going day and night (unless we’re talking Hanukkah… But that’s another story). Now we use strand lights and glass ornaments to promote decoration longevity.

Now, I’m not trying to suggest that modern progress has somehow diminished the charm of Christmas. But to those people who put their trees and lawn decorations up the day after Thanksgiving and take them down the day after Christmas: shame, shame on you.

I don’t feel compelled to discuss the “true” meaning of Christmas because, well, it’s irrelevant. If you want to celebrate the birth of Jesus, go pagan and celebrate the winter solstice or just enjoy time with your family, try to view the Christmas industry for what it is—commercialism. Don’t let it dictate how you want to celebrate any holiday.