Holiday music should wait until leaves fall

“No!” I practically shouted. “I’m not ready yet.” I began frantically punching buttons on the radio in an attempt to silence the cheery voice warbling, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
I skipped over rap and country stations before settling on golden oldies. That only lasted a minute or two before the station cut out and I went searching again. I’m not sure I have found an acceptable source of music yet.
I know retailers like to get a head start on luring shoppers into their establishments. But Christmas music before the leaves have all fallen? It just seems so wrong.
Maybe if there were more songs for Veteran’s Day, which is coming up fast, or even Thanksgiving, we could persuade stations to wait awhile before playing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Then again, nothing can stop the onslaught of unwanted Christmas ditties.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas music. I like everything from the audacious to the sacred. But not so soon.
I have found a few songs that would be appropriate to honor our veterans. Songs such as “Letters from Home” by John Michael Montgomery, “The Ballad of the Green Berets” by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler, “Good Night Saigon” by Billy Joel or “When a Soldier Makes It Home” by Arlo Guthrie just aren’t as catchy as “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Then again, the things we ask our service people to do don’t easily lend themselves to upbeat tunes.
It has been my experience that those who serve our country don’t need songs. They just want a little respect and maybe some quiet appreciation for doing their part.
“Albuquerque the Turkey” (Albuquerque was a turkey, And he’s feathered and he’s fine...) was the only real Thanksgiving song I found. So maybe the dearth of appropriate holiday music leaves radio stations with time to fill, thus I hear Christmas songs weeks before I want to.
I don’t mind stores stocking their shelves with holiday related merchandise long before the event. I do mind piped in music extolling a holiday that is more than a month or two away. There should be some kind of rule that Christmas music can only be aired after the last leaf has fallen from any and all deciduous trees in the listening area.
We seem to rush all the holidays, not just Christmas. Easter candy appears before the Valentines have cleared the shelves. Halloween decorations pop up around Labor Day. Poor Thanksgiving gets lost in the shuffle. Holidays celebrated by non-Christians are usually ignored by the retailers or given token space at best.
Then there are the holidays that are only found on the Internet. According to my computer, today is Chaos Never Dies Day, Fill Our Staplers Day, Job Action Day, Traffic Directors Day, and one of my favorites, National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day. That last one is not to be confused with Local Dark Chocolate Without Almonds Day, which I just made up.
Thankfully, none of those have music associated with them. I know it is too much to ask for music purveyors to hold off on holiday tunes until a couple of weeks before the big day. They seem to think that Christmas music will get people in the mood to spend more money. For me, it only serves to irritate me as I search for something more reasonable to sing along with as it certainly is not beginning to look a lot like Christmas.