Retailers start celebrating Christmas in October, but what happened to Halloween

It's inevitable. It's the end of October and you're planning an afternoon to browse at the mall. You walk in to your favorite department store and are suddenly jolted out of your feelings of fall and into a yuletide celebration. You are greeted by the sounds of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" over the loudspeaker and more than 25 decorated Christmas trees - not to mention the fashionably dressed mannequins in their ski hats and toboggans.

As you pass by the waving Santa and dancing angels, you say to yourself, "That's funny, I didn't think Halloween had passed yet." Well you're right. It's just that Christmas is too big of a moneymaker for retailers to wait until December to put out the goods.

Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas. I love celebrating the Christ child's birth, the family gatherings, and putting up the Christmas tree. I even leave it up until New Year's. And you'll even find me frantically decorating the day after Thanksgiving.

But it seems to me that Halloween and Thanksgiving are becoming holidays of the past, and I think it's sad. More emphasis is being put on Christmas - and not for the right reasons, either. That emphasis has been added because the retailers will make more money if they get out their jingle bells and plastic Santa's earlier.

Unfortunately the reasoning behind the early Christmas decorations and merchandise is what I believe to be all the wrong.

As for me, I celebrate Christmas because of Jesus Christ's birth. I enjoy the food and certainly love the time with family - but I don't need a special day to celebrate those things. Yes, I can thank God for Jesus Christ on Halloween and Thanksgiving, not to mention call up mom and tell her I can't wait to try her pumpkin pie.

I think as a society it's time that we slow down. Live one day at a time. Go ahead, start your Christmas shopping early, but don't let the already long lines at Wal-Mart for those tins of holiday popcorn bring out the Scrooge in you prematurely.

Let Halloween and Thanksgiving have their place. I believe Christmas is the most important holiday of the year, and therefore deserves all of December for celebration. But remember, the things that Christmas stands for - love, family, tradition and celebration can be important in your lives every day.

Make sure that you take the time to hand out some candy and get together with a few family members and/or friends this Halloween and Thanksgiving. After all, Christmas is about two months away, and if you get those sugar plums and Christmas cookies out now, they might moldy before Santa has a chance to get his hands on them.

Let us know what you think about fall and winter holidays. What is your favorite, and do you think Christmas celebrations begin too early?