[nolasmom]

Oh, I just HAVE to chime in about this one. I owned a home furnishings store for 7 years back the States. I would go to market mid-January to order Xmas decor for that year (yes, nearly 11 months ahead!). It would begin arriving in store in June, and a few customers would start asking to see the goodies in July (you read that right). I would put a small display up in the back of the store in late September or early October and the stuff always sold. And people always grumbled.

The Christmas season can account for 40-70% of a retailer's yearly gross, so one can understand the "push."

The punchline to all this is that I'm Jewish and always regarded the season with bemusement. So much tsuris over the birth of a little mensch from Bethlehem.