Christmas Creep

I am sure you have noticed that the stores are starting "Black Friday" earlier and earlier.  Several are starting their "Black Fridays" on Thursday - Thanksgiving Day.  I heard this referred to earlier today on the news as "Christmas Creep".

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I visited a local Christian book store.  There was one very small section of Thanksgiving merchandise.  All other "seasonal" merchandise was Christmas.  Now, don't get me wrong, Christmas is a very special holiday.  This is when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

But why are we minimizing Thanksgiving?  This is a special time when we are to give thanks for all the blessings we have received in our lives.  Why are we pushing this special time aside?  Has it suddenly lost its importance?

Now, with respect to commercial retailers, I am sure they are not starting the Christmas season early because they are anxious to celebrate Christ's birth - it is all about the commercialism - the dollar bill.  Over the years, we have commercialized Christmas to the point where you would not even think of getting together for Christmas without presents.  Everyone expects presents!  We have certainly obscured the meaning of the holiday and now it seems that we are determined to squeeze Thanksgiving completely out of the picture.

What do you think?