this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2025
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Today I Learned

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Christmas creep was happening 100 years ago, thanks capitalism.

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 115 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The entire pyramid collapses if consumers don't consume.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 80 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Ironically they are making it much more difficult to consume by making wages stagnant, while increasing inflation. I can’t wait for it to backfire on them.

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 39 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Could they be out of touch with reality?

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 25 points 1 month ago

No, it's reality that is out of touch with them!

[–] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 13 points 1 month ago

Indentured servants are more exploitable than consumers; you don't have to solicit for their money with goods.

[–] JeSuisUnHombre@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 month ago

Sounds like a phenomenal system to build a global economy on /s

[–] tym@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Doing my part with the easiest thing we could do if we actually cared about the suffering in the world.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 73 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

They start stocking the shelves with Christmas crap a week before Halloween now

You have to buy and prepare your Halloween gear by the first week of October and buy all your candy two weeks before Halloween because there will be little to no Halloween stuff by Halloween ... and anything you can buy the week before Halloween will either be no good or way overpriced and in that week before Halloween, you have to search for the Halloween stuff among all the Christmas stuff they started displaying.

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They start early September in Canada… so fed up….

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

There were decorations for sale at Costco in California in late August. Decorative gourd season decorations hadn't even shown up yet.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago

I want to buy Halloween decorations during the week before Halloween, and they were already closing up

aight no money for you I guess

[–] protist@mander.xyz 39 points 1 month ago (2 children)

FDR was unarguably the most socialist president the US has ever had

[–] JeSuisUnHombre@lemmy.zip 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

FDR was the president who did the most to increase social welfare, but he was still a capitalist.

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 16 points 1 month ago

This is the US you're talking about, they consider it nice if their elected officials apply lube before raping them.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

What about Teddy Roosenvelt?

[–] pageflight@piefed.social 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I am annoyed by Christmas before Thanksgiving, but the change doesn't seem that egregious, just avoiding the case where it could be a week later than usual:

in 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday of November as the official date for Thanksgiving to be celebrated each year. Following this tradition, every president thereafter declared a general day of Thanksgiving to be observed on the last Thursday in November. However, in 1939, during the Great Depression, November had five Thursdays, and the last one fell on November 30, which left little time for the Christmas shopping season. To address this concern, in August 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to break from tradition and issued an executive order declaring that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on November 23 instead of November 30.

Also it didn't work:

A 1941 Commerce Department survey found no significant expansion of retail sales due to the change.

[–] LittleBorat3@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Why is it so late in the US anyways? Other countries have this right after the harvest season.

[–] orbital@infosec.pub 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

At that time, it was generally frowned upon for retailers to display Christmas decorations or hold Christmas sales prior to Thanksgiving—a trend later referred to as "Christmas creep."

At least we don't have that problem anymore! /s

[–] SippyCup@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 month ago

July fucking 5th. I saw Christmas trees for sale on July the fucking 5th.

I absolutely refuse to engage with Christmas until December 12th now. I told my wife spooky season extends to Christmas day. I have neighbors with skeletons still out, so I'm sure I'm not alone.

[–] LuigiMaoFrance@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I'm quitting Christmas this year. No gifts, no attending the annoying semi-mandatory work Christmas party, none of this corporate crap which has encroached on a holiday that was once about family to me.
It's not even December yet and it's already been incredibly freeing not having to worry about any of it this year.
I'll visit family, rewatch Gremlins, maybe put up some decorations, but that'll be it. Should have opted out years ago.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

A couple of decades ago, my entire family decided we'd all just go on vacation together. No gifts, just enjoy the company. It was fantastic. Since then, almost every x-mas I go on a trip. I've been broke forever, so often these trips are just a week or so camping. People are welcome to come along, but if not, they know that I'm not part of any festivities they have planned. I still get a little pit-of-the-stomach feeling when the time of year rolls back around again, but it is far less than it used to be, and I find myself feeling much better for the coming year.

[–] LittleBorat3@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

That was always an option. Do people celebrate this differently than that?

Non-gifting pacts with your siblings, also very recommended.

I quit being annoyed by Christmas cookies starting being sold in September. Also very freeing.

It's all about little life hacks to ignore Christmas.

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

I wanted to burn a target down when I went there at noon on Halloween and the Halloween section was already stripped bare to make room for xmas shit. I made my purchase last minute elsewhere so there would be more candy on Halloween to give out. There's no bigger shame than in having to turn the porch lights off early because half the candy got eaten before Halloween.

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanksgiving has always been in October

[–] vatlark@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Canadian thanksgiving is best thanksgiving

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Damn, what a concept. If people buy extra in this time period, it is 100% crap that they don't need. Otherwise, they would be buying it, no matter when it gets stocked. So, the way to combat an economic crisis is to produce more garbage. Incredible.

[–] davidgro@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

According to the article it didn't even work - there wasn't a noticeable increase in spending.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

Ah, thanks, I hadn't read that far. It says this:

A 1941 Commerce Department survey found no significant expansion of retail sales due to the change.

With this as source: https://www.nytimes.com/1941/05/21/archives/thanksgiving-goes-back-to-old-date-in-42-president-says-change-did.html

[–] drsilverworm@midwest.social 5 points 1 month ago

All holidays are shaped by consumerism. Mother's day, valentines day, st Patrick's day, it's all about selling more shit.

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago

We kept Thanksgiving in early October in Canada and they still start advertising for Christmas as soon as Halloween is done.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Finally figured out why retailers keep moving up the date on Christmas stuff. Consumers are only going to spend $X on decorations and the like. If you're late getting those on the shelf, that money has already been given to your competitor.

So, it's not greed, it's, "Want the sale or not?"

[–] Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Wait. Shopping stops?