I was out looking to pick up some trick or treat candy etc a week ago and there was more Christmas merchandise on the shelves.At the rate the date of plugging Santa is moving ,it wont be long before it will be in the stores right after Memorial Day.The official start of that season used to be 2 or 3 weeks after Thanksgiving.Then the merchants started having a parade the Friday after Thanksgiving in the malls that rivaled the Macys parade of the day before at which Santa arrived in his sled and in some places by helecopter,to kick off the shopping for Christmas.So now it is before Halloween and away we go.Anyone want to guess how far forward this will eventually go.?It is certainly losing the religious tone and getting more commercial.Somehow it just feels wrong to me.How about you??

81 Newbee

Maybe Santa leaving the kiddies some firecrackers or buying candy canes at the fireworks stand ?

I hope it's a good Christmas season for the retailers. I think it might be. There have been so many problems lately it's a wonder they are still in business, beside Wal-Mart.

9/11 tragedy, SARS (here in Toronto), the blackout, severe weather problems, the mindset of the consumer is too be safe with family and that is changing things too.

But Christmas is for kids who have seen their peers go missing and found dead in the news, who are exposed to drugs in their schools, who are exposed to too much sex and violence in the movies, who see their parents divorce, etc.

How can we convince these children there is a Santa?

There is a forest in an acorn.