MY THOUGHTS
BY ROB MacLELLAN
On the First Day of Christmas… No, it’s a bit early for that. Or is it?
The recent snowfalls seem to be putting folks in the Christmas spirit a bit earlier than usual.
I recall when I was a child, we used to get our first significant snowfall around Oct. 20 to 24, and it would hang around. That was the start of the normal winter season and, of course, again as a child, it was very much welcome. Christmas was still a couple of months away then, so we didn’t associate Christmas with that first snowfall.
Decades later, early snow is no longer the norm. In fact, is has been notable that we have received as much snow as we have this year by the middle of November; notable, in that for the last few years, often our first significant snowfall has not been until December. Whether or not we would have a white Christmas on a year-to-year basis has become an iffy proposition. There has clearly been a change in the climate, and it is a roll of the dice to figure out what each winter will bring.
The periods of Christmas and Black Friday have become cornerstones of retail business, with revenues for this period of time reaching 20 per cent or more of business’s annual revenues. I suppose then, that we can’t fault retailers for getting out their Christmas promotions and decorations seemingly earlier and earlier every year, competing for space with Halloween and Remembrance Day decorations and promotions.
I was roasted a bit recently on social media for commenting on how early it seemed to me that our local Christmas Parade took place this year; so clearly large numbers of folks are perfectly comfortable with this extended Christmas season.
How do we reconcile the retail side of Christmas with the faith side of Christmas? Do people struggle with this question? We do have to remember that without the birth of Christ, this holiday season would not exist at all. Christian faiths have their seasons, as well, and this extended Christmas period is not faith-generated. Perhaps folks have embraced the Christmas duality.
Whatever it is, early snow seems to generate early Christmas spirit. I already see outside decorations up and lit, and through social media I see that many folks have already put up their Christmas trees.
We’re right in the middle of Black Friday events right now. What started out as a single day – the day after the American Thanksgiving – has now turned into a week or more of retail promotions and sales, nicely blended with the pre-Christmas shopping period.
The origins of the name, Black Friday, are a bit fuzzy, but it is said that it is the period of the year when retailers move from being in the “red,” to being in the “black.” In the U.S., Black Friday events have been characterized by earlier and earlier store openings and violence among frenzied shoppers.
While Canadians do have a culture distinct from that of Americans, we can’t help but be influenced by this elephant south of our border, so Black Friday has become a thing here in Canada as well, an event that frequently out-strips the sales of our more traditional Boxing Day events. Consumers love to buy the latest and newest, and they love to save money. This seems like a bit of an oxymoron. It also seems to me that if folks want to save money, then they wouldn’t spend it! It is what it is.
Christmas is coming! Retailers love to sell, and consumers love to buy. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Rob MacLellan is an advocate for education and non-profit organizations. He can be reached at 902-305-0311 or at [email protected].
