It’s Not Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I drove my minivan into Springfield on Saturday morning — Halloween — and I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. I turned on the radio and heard Bing Crosby singing White Christmas on a local secular station. I punched the dial and Amy Grant sang O Little Town of Bethlehem on a Christian station.

Had I fallen asleep and missed November? After all, Halloween is in October. But no, the recorded announcement on the secular station informed me in between Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis extolling the winter holiday. “We just couldn’t wait!” the recording explained.

Well, I can. I don’t want to hear about a white Christmas, sleigh bells or Santa before the Great Pumpkin has disappeared. It’s not beginning to look a lot like Christmas on Halloween. The temperature is in the upper 60s and the World Series is still being played.

The reason some radio stations can’t wait is because advertisers want to extend the Christmas shopping season beyond the traditional 30-day window. I’d like to get through Thanksgiving before thinking about “the most wonderful time of the year.”