it's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas? Is it just me or do Christmas decorations go up earlier and earlier every year? I had to make a quick trip to the store today (yes, I went to Wal-Mart... so sue me... I don't condone their employment practices but let's be honest, they really do have lower prices than most other places plus they have almost everything you could need under one roof so when both you and your husband are still in school, you do what you gotta do).

As I walk in, the first thing I see is a GIGANTIC Christmas tree. Now I am well aware of my current need for corrective lenses but trust me, I am not mistaken. It was a pre-lit, white twinkle light Christmas tree that went from the floor to the ceiling. And as I walked past the other entrance to the store, there it was, another enormous Christmas tree (this one with lights AND cantaloupe-sized colorful ball ornaments). I just couldn't get over the fact that in order to get to the Halloween costumes/candy/decorations, you were forced to walk past these trees. What has this world come to? We can't even enjoy one holiday without being forced to start planning for one that is 2 months away! Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and everything that goes with it. But I find it odd that Christmas has become such a commercialized holiday that retailers seem to just put Thanksgiving on the back burner and put all of their energy into Christmas. Instead of spending time being grateful for the things we already have, retailers are wanting us to get an early start on purchasing more and more things we probably don't really need.

Let me just state for the record that I didn't really grow up having a traditional Thanksgiving because 1) my family was never a big turkey fan, 2) we don't watch American football, and 3) it is not a traditional Brazilian holiday (duh). The only time I remember ever having traditional Thanksgiving food was when my dad was a bishop at BYU-Hawaii and the university supplied Thanksgiving dinner for each of the wards (tangent: I always found it odd that people would ward-hop on Thanksgiving... each ward had the exact same cafeteria turkey dinner; why students would want to eat it 3 or 4 times in one day is beyond my ability to comprehend).

Having said that, I want to state that I believe I am a reasonable person and I want to give each holiday its fair share of time in the spotlight. So here is my proposal: date swap. I say we celebrate Christmas at the beginning of March (which would be a great transition into Easter at the end of the month). And then we move Thanksgiving to sometime mid-December so that Thanksgiving can get its fair share of holiday spirit and excitement.