Like “autumn creep,” the encroachment of Christmas upon the final Sundays after Pentecost and the four weeks of Advent is one of those unfortunate results of living in a society in which we allow corporate marketing departments to set the tempo of our existence. The high consumer spending that accompanies Halloween and follows Thanksgiving must begin earlier and earlier each year, and the birth of Jesus Christ must be made synonymous with the purchase of certain products and a rather banal color palette, which is why Starbucks is already selling its bad coffee in red, green, and white paper cups. Whatever happened to waiting?
