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Christmas music and decorations flood public areas earlier each holiday season in a phenomenon known as the “Christmas creep.”

We’re still more than a month away from perhaps one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. In downtown Elizabethton the Christmas lights went up last week, and preparations have been made for the annual Christmas parade, which this year has a new route due to Hurricane Helene messing things up, especially the traffic downtown. The parade will not be held downtown this year, but will travel up G Street from the Elizabethton High School to Roan Street.

Another misplaced event is the annual lighting of the Fraser fir, of which the date has not yet been announced. Located on E. Elk Avenue across from the Carter County Courthouse, the Fraser fir is in for something a little different this year, also.

Again, Hurricane Helene is to blame. Traffic on that street cannot be stopped because of the Broad Street Bridge closure. As of now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens and when.

When October ends, themes go from pumpkins, ghouls and spooks to red, white and green color schemes featuring Santa Claus, snowmen and retailers playing Christmas music for nearly two months or longer. While getting into the holiday spirit is good, once November starts, it still feels too early to even think about Christmas.

Now granted, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States during November and in Canada in October, so it isn’t a global thing, but here in the states, the “Christmas creep” phenomenon has existed for a lot longer than some would realize.

According to an article from CNN, stores have been pushing up installation dates of holiday decorations. Some stores put Christmas decorations up around the same time Halloween decorations are on the shelf and it’s considered to be more of a priority than back-to-school sales.

Many people also start putting up Christmas decorations in front of their houses when November starts, not seeming to take into account that Christmas is in December. It’s not bad to get into the spirit early, but for some people, it could get old by the time Christmas rolls around.

It doesn’t help that Thanksgiving gets the short end of the stick when talking about end-of-the-year holidays.

At one time Black Friday was seen as the start of the Christmas season because of advertised discounts for popular products, such as toys, video games and clothing. On any other day, such prices for said items would be more expensive.

Note that the Hallmark network airs Christmas movies as early as July when it’s hot and Lifetime follows suit in October or November.

Getting into the holiday spirit is fine, but for many people, the decorations and music can’t help with that. Even in October or in early-November, it still feels too early to think about Christmas. It’s so early that by the time Christmas rolls around, you won’t want to celebrate it.

But, it is what it is.

Perhaps it would do us all good to look at the holidays through the eyes of a child. There is nothing brighter than the smile of a child during the season of Christmas, whether it be in October, November or on Christmas Day.

They look at the world with eyes dancing in anticipation, secure in the knowledge that something magical is about to happen. They try their best to be good, for goodness sake. They sing their loudest and grin their widest at Christmas time.

They warm our hearts.

So we should take a cue from the young. We should try our best to lose ourselves in their smiles, their sparkling eyes, their anticipation.

We should all do our best to make their dreams and hopes a reality. Lend a hand where it’s needed to spread the spirit of the season to those who will have trouble finding it on their own, especially those who suffered losses in late September when Hurricane Helene hit the area hard.

Whether we celebrate Christmas three months or three weeks, the story of Christmas is the same: the Christ Child gives us hope when times are dark and often rob us of joy.

So, when the dark nature of news, events or circumstance threatens to erode our holiday joy, stare into the eyes of a child. Recall the smile of a young one filled with hope.