Christmas before Thanksgiving!?

Christmas is my favorite holiday, especially since we have kids. And as I am driving John to school this morning I can see that a lot of people have decorated their houses, the nativity scenes are in the front yards, as are the inflatable Santas and light-up Rudolph. However somehow I cannot quite get into the Christmas spirit. So I am starting to wonder what is wrong with me? Before I open the yellow book in search of the best shrink around, I look at my watch and realize that nothing is wrong. I know why I cannot get into the Christmas spirit yet. Today is November 23rd, we are more than a month away from Christmas, we have not celebrated Thanksgiving yet and Santa is already at the mall!!
I understand the commercial circus that Christmas has become (some people who have never set foot in a church celebrate Christmas nowadays) and that in a bad economy businesses are trying to capitalize on it as soon as possible. But please let us enjoy Thanksgiving first. It is one of the rare holiday that has not yet been tarnished by greedy business owners, one of the rare holiday where gifts are not involved. A day to be thankful for what we have, a day to stop for a few minutes, look at our children and be thankful for their health and ours, a day to thank everyone who help us (a big shout out to my in-laws who are at the top of the list), and if possible a day to help others.

So let us at least wait for black (or mayhem) Friday to start thinking about Christmas.