Some radio stations, believe it or not, start airing Christmas carols 24/7 right after Halloween.
So much for Thanksgiving.I’m a sucker for Christmas carols and I can’t get enough of them. Especially those classics sung by the likes of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives and Ella Fitzgerald. They hearken me back to a time when I believed in Santa Claus and peace on earth.
But my favorite Christmas carol of all time is “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” that Elmo & Patsy made a cult classic.
My only regret is that Nat King Cole never recorded it. That man had a set of pipes like no other.
While the early onslaught of Christmas carols on the radio is fine with me, I do think the drum roll for Christmas starts way too early. It begins sometime roughly in September when we’re still trying to figure out what the heck happened to summer.
The percussion builds as the army of little drummer boys grows until Christmas Day — a holiday so ripe with promise and joy for so long — finally arrives and then burns like a solar flare.
And suddenly is gone.I dare you to stumble across a Christmas carol on the radio the day after Christmas. Stations put a muzzle on carols the moment Christmas night tolls midnight.
The world moves on quickly from Christmas, sliding it into past tense like a drawer being slammed shut. There’s no reason to stay spongy with the spirit of the season when after-Christmas sales take center stage. Commerce indeed has a knife-edge coldness to it.
Granted, commerce is the very reason why the Christmas season rolls out earlier and earlier.
Once upon a time summer resorts held mirthful Christmas in July celebrations on July 25.
Someday soon July 25 may mark the official Christmas kickoff date. So much for the 12 Days of Christmas.
Don’t call me Scrooge, but the 150 days of Christmas doesn’t sound quite as charming and the lyrics would be longer than a Russian novel.
