Do we REALLY need a little Christmas now??

Okay. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. (It's what gets me through the first one-third of the winter. Without that month, I probably would be in a deeper depression than I am usually in during that time. But, I digress...) I love Christmas decorations, the Christmas smells, the Christmas sounds, AND Christmas music. I'm happy to start playing it as soon as the day after Thanksgiving. And, for as long as I've been living downstate, so too have two of Grand Rapids' radio stations. Seven years ago, when I first moved down here permanently, these two radio stations, who will remain nameless other than to say they are Grand Rapids' two light rock stations, would begin playing Christmas music 24 hours a day on "Black Friday." Great! It helps get me into the Christmas mood.

I did notice one surprising thing last year. It was somewhere around the second week of November 2007, when in flipping through the stations one day, I came across Christmas music on one of these two stations. The second week of November?? Hmmm... a little early, I must say. But alright. I guess I'm okay with that.

Alright. It was yesterday. October 31st. Halloween. I jumped into the car to run a few errands before the trick-or-treating festivities began, and didn't like what was on the current radio station. So I began my station scan. I couldn't believe my ears when I suddenly hear "...Silver Bells..." WHAT??? Christmas music???? Has anyone checked the calendar lately?? It's HALLOWEEN for crying out loud!! It's 65 degrees! I'm getting ready to turn on my inflatable yard pumpkin and dress my kids up for trick-or-treating! And you're playing CHRISTMAS MUSIC?? So I flipped over to the other light rock station, only to find that THEY are playing Christmas music too! SERIOUSLY?? Again, don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music and the Christmas season just as much as the next person, and I can deal with walking in to the Hallmark store on Halloween (as I did yesterday) and seeing the Christmas cards and ornaments already on display, but COME ON!!!

So, I guess, as the song goes, we need a little Christmas. But do we REALLY need it on October 31st?? Maybe next year they'll start playing it on the day after Labor Day...