Monthly Debate - October!

[Priscilla]

Fall has fallen, at least around where I live it has! ;) Various kinds of trees are changing their leaf color in preparation for dropping them off and causing mass hysteria in yards all over New England as frantic "home owners" go into *must get every leaf off my lawn, get out the industrial strength leaf blower* mode! :roll: Students are all back in school (can you hear the collective sigh of relief from mothers across the entire country?!). So what's next you ask? I'm beginning to think it's the "Hal-anks-mas" Holiday!!! Before the end of August the stores have already got their Halloween decorations out and shelves of candy (the exact same candy that normally sits on only one "candy" shelf the rest of the year) labelled HALLOWEEN CANDY, preparing us for the yearly Fall madness. Thanksgiving isn't quite so bad, they haven't managed to come up with any enormous ways of exploiting it yet (though I can imagine giant inflatable turkeys and Pilgrims in yards in our futures!). It's the first of October today, and in spite of the fact that all the Halloween stuff is still out and it's almost a month before that date, the stores have already got out a LOT of Christmas stuff.

Anyway, all this has been a long winded lead up to the question of the month. Have those three holidays run into each other and become so commercialized that they have lost their meaning for the majority of people? And, for those whose countries do not celebrate the first two "holidays" in the same manner (or at all) as we do here in the States, are there other holidays where you live that you feel have become less than they were originally intended to be?! So. Have at it! :ok:

[Lois]

Dear Priscilla:
Here Spring has sprung! The spring storms have rattled through and kept all the school children indoors for the first week of their spring holidays. We have just finished the "Royal Show" in Perth West Australia with it's nightly fireworks and farming districts displays side show alleys, animal showings, dare devil drivers and "show Bags". Margaret River dairy does a wonderful cheese sample bag... yum.
We will now breathe for one week and then Christmas stuff will start to sneak into the shops...we don't do Halloween and Thanksgiving here although some enterprising children try a trick or treat just in case a neighbour has lollies to spare. Aready the butchers are reminding us to save for a Christmas hamper.
The family Christmas planning has already started with Mum voting me the host this year...I think it is my airconditioning that has me nominated as the last few Christmases have been HOT and Steamy...no white Christmases here..unless it is white hot!
This year the State Government has extended the Christmas School holidays by one week to 7 weeks..one more week for the children to get up to summer mischief. The idea being that the teachers go back the week earlier and do all their in service training in that week rather than through the year.
At the end of January we celebrate Australia Day. In Perth we all gather around the river...rather like a wide lake surrounded by parks in Perth Water so 100,000's of people can picnic and they put on a HUGE fireworks display! With some patriotic songs thrown in to try and make it meaningful. Mostly it is a very friendly evening with much talking to distant neighbours. Sort of gives a high finish to the school holidays..and the back to school sales.....and then Easter...sigh

[Bronze-Dragonrider]

Well, I don't celebrate any of the holidays, and I don't feel I'm missing out. Christmas, which was supposed to be celebrating the Birth of Christ, has gotten so far away from it's original meaning, which has been proven to be a false date of his birth anyway. Everything is so commercialized now and I hate it. With thanksgiving, which does still have a noble cause, IMO is kind of pointless. Why pick just one day of the year to be thankful for what we have? I would rather look at it as all year that should be thanksgiving, without all the decorations and turkey dinners everyday. :p

[Milo]

What I hate is when I see christmas decorations being sold BEFORE my birthday :irked:

[C_ris]

What I hate is when I see christmas decorations being sold BEFORE my birthday :irked:

Whats so special about YOUR birthday?! :evil:

[Mayhem]

We don do Thanksgiving officially here, tho I do get dragged to my Grans to celebrate it lol.

Halloween.............SO fun!!! Free sweets, and I gets to dressup!!!!

Christmas.......... Fun ^.^

What bugs me, is the fact that there are 2 and a half months till christmas........and the shops have all been transformed! And I have REAL problems keeping away from the tinsel!
I am a human magpie, if it's shiny, I MUST have it!
MUST!
I now have enough tinsel to do my whole house jus abouts!!

[C_ris]

Students back at school: Theres too many damn Freshers! :( Now it's a mission to get served at the bar! :(

[Mausey]

We have the same holidays as the States but arranged differently. :D We have Thanksgiving before the US, so we're spared seeing turkey's with santa hats. :laugh: Thanksgiving is Oct. 10th this year and while we have Hallowe'en candy out (actually, we've already bought ours. :blush: ) I haven't seen any Christmas items out yet. Most likely it will be displayed the day after Hallowe'en.

But yes, I think for a lot of people, most of the holdays have turned from the original into nothing but a commercial enterprise.

[Milo]

Whats so special about YOUR birthday?! :evil:
Well, it's my birthday, you dork. :razz:

Christmas stuff sold almost FOUR months before the date seems slightly outrageous.

[Weyrwoman Kalina]

What I hate is when I see christmas decorations being sold BEFORE my birthday :irked:

Man, I saw them before Halloween!!!! :eek:

I hate it when I see retail stores decorating so early, but I work in retail so I don't have a choice, really. :roll:

[-H-]

Isn't it December now .... or was the monthly debate about October?

:confused: