Happy Hallothanksmas

There was a time when we celebrated three holidays during three different months, each with distinct traditions and forms of celebrations. As the cartoon above notes, these three celebrations have essentially merged in American culture today. Halloween, which is celebrated on October 31st, runs into Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. After Thanksgiving, it begins the Christmas season.

Halloween is celebrated with masks and candy and pumpkins. Thanksgiving is celebrated with turkeys, harvest festivals and football games. Christmas is celebrated with lights, decorated trees, the giving of gifts and for Christians, a time of worship.

The problem has come that these three holidays have merged into one large marketing event. The Urban Dictionary helps define this new season:

Hallothanksmas is an event running from early October to New Year’s Eve. Due to peoples obsessive need to start the holidays earlier and earlier, the Three holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas have merged into one huge morass of shopping.

Stores start to place material for Halloween out in August, soon after there is merchandise on the shelves for all three-holiday celebrations. In many cases, the merchandise is placed right next to one another. This marketing ploy works for businesses. However, it creates a dilemma for consumers. These three separate holidays with unique celebrates become rushed events to serve the purpose of consumerism.