By Kyle Kennedy, Staff Reporter
As I walked down the block, I saw several houses with the unmistakable glint of Christmas lights festooning their porches and trees, with miniature Santa’s littering the lawn. I glanced down at my phone to check Instagram, only to find a new post from my cousin. “‘Tis the season,” read the caption, with a photo depicting a toasty mug of hot cocoa.
That was in October.
With the rapid increase in the commercialization of the Christmas holiday and season, companies begin holiday themed marketing campaigns earlier and earlier, trying to get people to spend more during the holiday season. Kmart started its Christmas ads on Sept. 10, and Home Depot started even earlier on Sept. 5. That is about a week after we started school this year and we were still wearing shorts. 
Even if you do not celebrate Christmas or another winter holiday, the early ads encroach upon other fall holidays, particularly Halloween and Thanksgiving. These holidays are drowned out by excessive early Christmas marketing, and companies that are dependent on fall holidays and decor are negatively affected.
Having ads too early detracts from the overall excitement of the season, and desensualizes the feeling of Christmas when it actually comes. And unfortunately, advertisements are not the only problem. Christmas music is another (not so) silent killer, and it could hurt the music industry. If people are listening to “Frosty the Snowman” in October, they may not bother to listen to the newest music. 
I like Christmas, however the overenthusiastic commercialization which has led to extremely early ads and Christmas music detracts from the joys of fall and Christmas itself.  So let’s ditch the garland and lights in October and November, and enjoy the evanescent opportunity to break out the pumpkin spice, trick or treat with your friends and eat a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. 
Kyle Kennedy can be reached at [email protected].