I’m no Grinch, but...

On Nov. 1, some houses on my block immediately replaced the cobwebs and jack-o-lanterns with Christmas lights.

November. First. Way to sweep the deliciousness that is Thanksgiving under the rug.
Thanksgiving is centered on my two favorite things: food and talking.

Pie and mashed potatoes and gravy and pie and stuffing and pie and of course turkey but also pie.

Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is great, too. I just don’t think it’s so great it warrants steamrolling a holiday where I get to eat pie.

I enjoy Christmas for the same reasons I enjoy Thanksgiving — I get time off to hang out with the people who are most important to me — but I am not particularly enchanted by a lot of the trappings of Christmas.

The atmosphere that dominates most of November and December is manufactured to sell me something.

There are around 40 versions of Santa Baby. There is no reason to have that many versions except to capitalize on nostalgia and Christmas cheer. I doubt all of them have added anything of meaningful artistic value to the piece.

Starting Christmas early extends the period of time companies will attempt to guilt me into buying useless things to prove my love for my family or Jesus or whomever.

The consumer spirit has encroached on Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, The Gap, Toys ‘R’ Us, Banana Republic, Michael’s and Old Navy are opening Thanksgiving morning this year to get a jump on Black Friday profits. I get why stores that sell groceries might need to stay open, but who in the world is trying to go to Banana Republic on Thanksgiving?

Christmas has strayed from more intimate meanings to become a two-month consumerist binge.

Let’s celebrate later, and maybe we can all save some money and some dignity.

—casefarr@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Casey Farrington on Twitter @casefarr.