I've seen Halloween stuff in grocery stores in August, and Christmas stuff by Labor Day. It's ridiculous. Christmas season doesn't start until after Thanksgiving as far as I'm concerned.

The news said that gas prices were expected to be four dollars a gallon by Christmas. With the average credit card balance already straining most families, the rising cost of gas may put the holidays on delay.

So the so called "Black Friday" might take on a new meaning? Be on the lookout for bargains.

It was kinda weird sitting in the car listening to Christmas carols, before noon even! Way too early. I had to flip the dial to escape the timewarp. I agree on the post=Thanksgiving start to all the hype. I'll be going home to visit the daughters and grands in Massachusetts for the holidays. My eldest lives in the foothills of the Berkshires. It's always so picture-postcard pretty there at Xmas time. I can't wait. High gas prices are a real bummer though. I'm hoping thy come down, but someone said maybe they will go as high as $4.00 a gallon!

I have grumbled, griped and moaned about 'Christmas' appearing before Thanksgiving for the last 5-10 years. It gets earlier every year. Dang it, I want to enjoy Fall, November, Thanksgiving. Four weeks is ENOUGH 'Christmas'. Plus, it further drowns out the birth of Christ. It's all about making another buck off Christmas and I hate it.

Santa comes to the mall on Friday !?

No way! This Friday?!?! There ought to be a law:)

I admit to being one of those who start to decorate early. Just exactly when I start decorating depends on how many weeks there are between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nothing causes greater panic in those of us who obsessively decorate than to see we have a shorten Christmas season.

No, I don't have a yard full of holographic snowmen, three nine foot Homer Simpsons or twitching lights set to music. In fact, we use very few lights at all. But I do use several miles worth of greenery which is matched by miles of ribbon and dozens and dozens of wreaths. Last year's wreath count was 78 and I hope to add a few more this year!

All of this takes little old me two weeks to set up- and that is just the outside of the place.

Coming from a long line of fanatical decorators we do have one rule that is more like a tradition. After our very own version of Thanksgiving (which can seem to outsiders a little like a Robert Earl Keen holiday) and the men folk have slept through at least one football game..... we light the outside Christmas lights. That is the one rule- the outside lights can not be fired up until after the Thanksgiving pie is served.

They used to have a Christmas tree lighting in Knoxville at the old Miller's building, now a UT conference center on Henley Street. I believe it used to be held the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was always a special moment.

I suppose they still do something like that in Knoxville, just in a different location.

Four weeks is ENOUGH 'Christmas'.

Agreed.

Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.

They light the tree on Market Square the day after Thanksgiving.

We don't even have four weeks of C'mas. Try 12 days. The actual C'mas decorations don't go up until the 11th (which happily conincides with my big brother's birthday), and the tree goes up no earlier than the 20th.

My favorite decorating part is putting the Wise Men as far away from the creche as possible and still keep them in the house. Then starting C'mas day you move them a little close to the creche each day, so they arrive on Epiphany. Yeah, technically that means they wouldn't be at the manager but in Egypt protecting the baby from Herrod, but then Episcopalians aren't literalists.

pgs

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

My favorite decorating part is putting the Wise Men as far away from the creche as possible and still keep them in the house. Then starting C'mas day you move them a little close to the creche each day

That's pretty cool. We have also taken to putting up a Menorah. Wonder where that fits in? Probably with our lighted Christmas palm tree.

and fireworks

Gee.