“Umm, what are all those?” I asked rhetorically, walking into the living room the morning of Nov. 1.
Not getting an audible answer, I spoke directly (and out loud) to myself.
“There appears to be many boxes of Christmas decorations.”
Nothing.
“We know not to put anything up until after Remembrance Day, right?”
Still talking to myself with no one around.
I’m happy to report that days later, with Remembrance Day (at the time of this writing) still in the distance, that the boxes haven’t moved, nor have they been opened. Tradition and decorum are maintained for another year. Simply bringing the decorations out of the garage or the crawl space is no problem. Knowing the house will be a full on Christmas circus world on Nov. 12 remains its own thing but that’s something I’ve come to grips with.
As a wee broth of a lad, I loved everything about Christmas. We started thinking about it the first time the temperature dipped below 10 C, dreaming of Santa and the year’s Sears Wishbook and shortbread cookies and all that fun stuff.
Every year, a couple of our neighbours would have their holiday lights up the day after Halloween.
And every year, our Mum (who never said a bad word about anyone) would shake her head and say it was disrespectful to be doing stuff like that before Remembrance Day. Given she was born in wartime England and her dad (our Gramps) was a Canadian soldier, that importance resonated with one. Still does, to this day.
So as an adult (so the driver’s licence tells me), I always held to that ‘not before Remembrance Day’ edict.
Now, I get why businesses would want to jump on the Christmas train early every year. If it’s your busiest time of year and competition is ever-increasing, then I can see wanting to jingle those bells as early as possible.
When I was younger and more idealistic, if I strolled into a store and Santa displays were staring back at me in August, I’d always vow not to shop there until it was actually close to the holiday season.
Now, I just shrug and wonder how come, even though they are delicious, I’ve never had an After Eight mint outside of December in my life.
Side note: Purchasing presents at any time of year is OK. Items come on sale, budgets need to be planned, all that good stuff. My Nana had a special closet and you’d see (but pretend you didn’t) with all kinds of little items purchased with love well before December. Or September. Or June. Perfectly acceptable.
How about you? What are your thoughts on holiday decorations, at home or in stores? How early is too early? Was this an issue in your family or neighbourhood? How soon do you start watching for Rudolph?
PQB News/Vancouver Island Free Daily editor Philip Wolf welcomes your questions, comments and local story ideas. He can be reached via email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca; by phone at 250-905-0029 or on Twitter @philipwolf13.