Before You Break Out Your Christmas Trees, Pump the Brakes and Give Thanks First

This just might bring me the most hate mail of my career, but something has to be said.

Unpopular Opinion Number 578: Christmas can wait and so can Mariah Carey.

Let's focus on Thanksgiving before we dive into whatever she's been asking for since 1994.

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Now hear me out, because I'm a fan of her popular Christmas earworm, but there's a time and place for it and early November isn't it.

Ms. Carey decided to "bless" the world at midnight immediately following Halloween, with a friendly reminder that it was her time to shine, but I beg to differ.

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If you ask me, the world is moving far too fast and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. We're drinking pumpkin beers and spiced lattes during the hot dog days of summer, decorating our yards with mummies and skeletons on beach days, and putting up Christmas trees before the turkey even gets a chance to get carved. All this rushing around is clouding our minds.

Have we forgotten what lesson Peppermint Patty learned about Thanksgiving?

My Facebook newsfeed was flooded with Christmas decorations, fake trees and TikTok trends the second Halloween ended, and everyone and their mother are breaking out the ugly sweaters. I'm sorry, but the last time I checked the outside temperature, the SouthCoast was still swimming in the 60s. There's no need for turtlenecks covered in cats wearing Santa hats.

I'm in no way intending to bring out my inner Scrooge, just trying to reset the seasonal clock before we start soliciting for Valentine's Day in December.

Hopefully, there's someone out there who agrees. So slow down, take a look around and pass the gravy. I said what I said.