How to celebrate Christmas like the grandparents did over 50 years ago

[jeffandnicole]

Now, sure, the US ... and starts Christmas earlier by having the starting gun being Thanksgiving.

More like Halloween, even Labor Day.

I'd say even earlier than that.  Almost all retailers are putting Christmas stuff out in late September or early October.

Um...Labor Day is early September!

It's mostly Halloween stuff until close to Halloween...with some Christmas stuff encroaching.  Right after Halloween, it's all Christmas.

However, from a retail standpoint, Christmas is a huge moneymaker.  It pays to put that stuff out early.  There's really not much in the way of decorating for Thanksgiving, and there's not much you can put out that will sell during that time period.  For many retailers, it's a dead zone.  Many people start decorating, or at least thinking about what they want to buy.  People start putting stuff up, and they need those Christmas decorations.  Many people complain that Christmas is getting earlier and earlier; however, it's really in our minds that Christmas is getting earlier and earlier.  Not much has changed for many years.

It's just like the stores that open on Thanksgiving.  For the endless number of complaints from people saying stores need to close on Thanksgiving; there is a lot of shopping going on that day.  The people not shopping that day aren't going to boycott those stores permanently, and there's no protests going on outside those stores.  Again, from a retail standpoint, there isn't much downside from opening on Thanksgiving.

[tdindy88]

It's interesting to me anyway that the Catholic Church BEGAN celebrating the Christmas season on Christmas Eve and will do so until January 9th. In the secular you celebrate the season leading up to the holiday while in the religious you celebrate afterwards. It's a little jarring to still hear "Christmas carols" in church the next two Sundays after Christmas and still see trees and poinsettias.

[kphoger]

Epiphany is January 6. Why is Christmas celebrated for three days after that?

[GCrites]

Now, sure, the US doesn't have the Boxing Day/St Stephens' Day Public Holiday that Britain, Canada and Ireland (and others?) have either, and starts Christmas earlier by having the starting gun being Thanksgiving.

We don't officially have a Boxing Day, but as a retailer I can tell you that it is a very big day. Call it "Ghost" Boxing Day. In places like Florida which see a lot of Canadian tourism around Christmas it's even moreso.

[tdindy88]

Epiphany is January 6. Why is Christmas celebrated for three days after that?

The church moved the feast of Epiphany to the 8th so that it can fall on a Sunday. Traditionally I know it is the 6th, 12 days of Christmas and all of that. There's one more feast on the 9th and that's the "end" of the season.

[vdeane]

Honestly, the radio stations should wait until after Thanksgiving to play the Christmas music.  It just doesn't feel right to do it earlier (heck, it still feels off if there's no snow when listening to Christmas music, but that's probably because I grew up in the snowbelt).  Through New Year's is fine; that's always been the end of the Christmas season in my family (actually, Mom would keep the tree up longer, but the town only makes one round to collect the trees in early January).

That said, I'm still not a fan of radio stations preempting their normal music for non-stop Christmas songs.  While I like the modern songs, the crooners have never been my style of music, and it's jarring when stations that normally play more modern music switch over.

[kphoger]

That said, I'm still not a fan of radio stations preempting their normal music for non-stop Christmas songs.  While I like the modern songs, the crooners have never been my style of music, and it's jarring when stations that normally play more modern music switch over.

I like the stations that gradually work Christmas songs into their usual rotation.  They're only occasional at the beginning of December, then non-Christmas songs are only occasional by the time Christmas arrives.

What I dislike is the total abandonment of Christmas on the 26th.  Just when I'm finally in the mood for Christmas (having stubbornly tried to avoid it for as long as possible), with another 11 days of it to celebrate, the radio is 100% done with it.  OTOH, then I start wondering what new songs came out over the last month that I never got to hear yet...

[jwolfer]

It seems that when a station goes through a format change the buffer between old and new format is wall to wall Christmas music

LGMS428

[Otto Yamamoto]

I'm glad to be able to shut off the regular rubbish, now.

XT1254

[english si]

What I dislike is the total abandonment of Christmas on the 26th.  Just when I'm finally in the mood for Christmas (having stubbornly tried to avoid it for as long as possible), with another 11 days of it to celebrate, the radio is 100% done with it.

http://www.radiochristmas.co.uk/index.php/radio/listen-non-stop-christmas <- sadly internet only, and with a UK-slant (though a good mix of secular and sacred).

Oddly (though excellently), the December-only (up to the 25th) full on FM local radio station (even years in English in England, odd years in Spanish in Central America, both also internet stations) isn't that fond of Christmas songs. It'll play them, but you'd typically hear more Christmas songs on other music stations than on Radio Christmas.