Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind… and that’s what’s been changing. — Miracle on 34th Street

If you’ve been hanging around here for more than a few months, you’re probably aware that I’m not a Christmas person. The religious aspect of the holiday is a good reminder for me, and I do enjoy the time I get to spend with the kids and Irish Woman.  But Santa Claus, tinsel in every available nook and cranny, and all the noise, noise, noise, noise, noise makes me want to drive my truck into a railroad abutment. It’s getting out of hand.  One of our local radio stations went to pre-programmed Christmas music before Halloween this year, which means that it joins the one that went over prior to Thanksgiving last year on the list of things I don’t listen to anymore.

Look, if you truly feel that there should be peace on earth and good will toward men, then act like it after December 26.  If you want a couple of weeks of good behavior under your belt to salve your conscience for being an absolute prat all year long, go for it.  But at least have the integrity to admit that Christmas is an excuse to shop, and not a state of mind.