Never mind that other holiday.

A Thanksgiving Tree

Every year since I've been alive (and possibly earlier, though I have no evidence to prove it) the "Christmas season" has started at approximately the same time. By "Christmas season" I mean when Wal-Mart turns the Garden Center into an Inflatable Wonderland and Lite Mix 99 starts playing nothing but holiday-themed music til mid-January and all the stores have egg nog. I just love egg nog.

The decorations in my home begin about two weeks after the Christmas season has begun elsewhere, usually right around the time the temperature finally drops below 60. Oh, did I mention I live in the Pensacola Desert? Well, I do, which is unfortunate considering I love the cold weather. It is also unfortunate that everyone around me has skin made of paper. People complain about the weather this time of year more than anything else, saying things like, "We're not supposed to have this kind of weather this time of year in Florida!!!!!!!!!!"

Having lived in Pensacola all my life, I can readily confirm that it is always this cold off and on for the November-February winter season. Every year. This is nothing new. And I don't know where these people would rather be, since, according to my phone, it was right about the same temperature last night in Pensacola, Orlando, New York City, Nome, and London. So, might I recommend deep, dark Africa for your next vacation spot? I hear it's lovely this time of year.

But anywhooooo. I don't know for sure about other places, but in Pensacola that official Christmas season start-up is November 1st. Get rid of that candy and hang up that holly, the stores cry, while everyone around me starts whining yet again.

"What about Thanksgiving?! What's all this Christmas crap doing out when we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet?!"

Beggin' your pardon, but what exactly do you want the stores and radio stations and good old folks at home to do during that awkward holiday gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving? I can understand a family honoring some sort of tradition to celebrate Christmas for exactly one month, starting with Black Friday shopping and ending with tearing everything down on the 26th, but I see no earthly reason why one can't get going on the holiday spirit in early November. If it feels like Christmas and looks like Christmas and smells like Christmas... It's not like you have to worry about a Thanskgiving Tree.

The simple fact is that Christmas is not just one day (I mean, literally it is, but you know what I's sayin!). It's a period of time, the length of which differs from person to person. Some go from November 1st through December 26th. Others may go from December 10th-January 28th. So, rip up your textbooks and stand on your desks, cause there is no right answer. I guess I just want everyone to stop complaining and enjoy the season.

Can't we all do that?

Can't we all just get along?

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If you have something to declare about Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Birdman, do so in the comments below or in a personal e-mail to me at beauxmoviemail@gmail.com. Thank you.