Those who go to Walmart anytime during November will take note of the decor, if not the music. Alongside the pricier items on sale, listening to Mariah Carey the moment Halloween has ended will bring forward a cynical goosebump in people like myself.

It is known as “Christmas Creep,” a term invented by business analysts for the act of selling holiday, namely Christmas, products before Black Friday. It started in the late 80s once things like TV and radio made advertising easier. Black Friday was originally considered the cutoff date for selling holiday merchandise. However, by having that deadline, those that broke that rule would have access to an arbitrary scarcity, that they ironically created. 

This could be done as an act of general goodwill. Though it is best to assume that any choice made by a company never comes from a place of heart or emotional warmth, but rather the cold pursuit of a high quarterly income. Especially when most Walmart or Target stores will demand workers come in during holidays that are not Christmas.

Not only does this reinforce a Christian-normative society where Christmas is celebrated before other holidays, but it also gives companies more control over what we consume during those time periods. 

The use of Christmas-themed music and products are devalued in the average person. As it stands, over-exposure to a certain set of products kills excitement or the value in waiting for the season. One of the things that gives the holiday season its punch is its brevity. The feeling that in some way we have earned it by weathering the rest of the year. It is the same reason why an odd brief Christmas carol during a lengthy summer car ride feels so funny. When companies take that away by monetizing it, they also bring capitalist values into what is supposed to be a break from that and I get sick of seeing it.

“Christmas Creep,” or “Holiday Creep,” is a nuisance over anything else but it also holds implications over how the retail industry sees the world. The retail industry takes note of what demographics to appeal to, Christians, and who to ignore, while still gladly promoting values like diversity to rub salt in the wound. 

In some respects, perhaps this is not something to be held against companies. Instead, this should be held against consumers. Companies will always act to benefit themselves and perhaps if we, as their patrons, pushed against this by simply abstaining from purchasing holiday products during that time, the trend would begin to die down. 

While that is not exactly the most effective way at beating a mundane business practice, it is more rational to assume that we could have a change in our own behavior long before the cold merciless souls working at Target could be asked to change something that is nothing but a profit to them.