Do you decorate for Christmas before or after Remembrance Day? Do you watch Christmas movies and start playing Christmas music before or after Remembrance Day?
It is something I have found myself pondering a lot recently. Each year it seems the commercials for Christmas show up earlier and earlier. The same day I had just gotten a poppy to wear on my jacket, I saw a Christmas commercial on TV that evening. I even went and checked my facebook to see when I had commented on this last year, sure enough its earlier than was seen the previous year.Last year Shoppers got in trouble with customers, many sending in complaints by email and social media, and complaining to store managers about the store playing Christmas music before Remembrance Day. I remember going into a Shoppers on November 1st and being surprised myself that they were playing Christmas music already. Sure enough the store listened to the pressure from its clientele to wait until after Remembrance Day.
In the States they are still waiting to celebrate Thanksgiving. Friends and family in the States, have you seen any signs of Christmas already?
Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas as much as any other person out there, I am a big kid at heart. I had my fingers crossed that my daughter would be born on Christmas (looking back I am kind of glad she wasn’t). I was however brought up to have a whole lot of respect for those who served and are serving. In our home everything Christmas related had to wait til after Remembrance Day.
I have never seen a Remembrance display in any store, or coffee shop. I would actually love to see this. What about having some pictures of poppies on the wall, maybe even the poem In Flanders Fields displayed, something. Instead I have never see any of this. I do however always see all of this in the schools I have worked in. Each year Remembrance Day starts getting addressed near the beginning of November. Art pieces and poems are put up on display. Children are taught why we remember. They need to be taught why as many do not have family members living any more who once served in the wars that marked the start of Remembrance Day. Anything Christmas related waits til December.
I feel that Christmas joy should not be overshadowing why we Remember. Christmas also has a whole lot of meaning to me, and my family as well. However, I find that the commercialism of Christmas is taking over, and really should be kept to a limit. (Cue Linus telling Charlie Brown the real meaning of Christmas) Stores are wanting to make as much profit as they can with the holiday seasons. Its always a rush from one holiday season, into another. Remembrance Day is being forgotten and ignored in the shuffle of it all.
I will be continuing to wait til after Remembrance Day. I will be teaching my daughter why we must remember. She will know that we have family members and friends, who served, and are still serving. We will be showing our respect both on Remembrance Day, and by waiting til after for anything Christmas related to show up in our home.
I think it’s all very relative and personal to the families and what they do. Kerry, I actually decorate for Christmas on Halloween after trick or treating with the kids. It became tradition because of our kids actually. All of our extended family live elsewhere, and we left town every year when my kids were little at Christmas time so we only spent maybe 10 days in our own home for Christmas. That didn’t seem long, so we extended our decorative time It feels great in our home. We are not about the commercialism at all, but we formed our own traditions based on our lives. We also remember Remembrance day, and our kids know exactly what it means. I don’t think we need to be determining what is right and wrong based on what the commercial sector is doing. Its what we as mothers and fathers are individually teaching our kids, and what we value. And our values have nothing to do with bottom lines.
Totally agree! I wish stores would wait until after Remembrance Day out of respect. In my house though, there is a little war on when to decorate. For us the debate is whether or not to wait until December 1. Hubby would prefer it but I start sneaking in the decos by the last week of November and just play Christmas carols when he isn’t home until December hits!