As the song goes, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Oh, wait. Sorry. I must be mistaken. Isn't it the beginning of November?
In the United States, Halloween has wound down, although it is likely decorations still adorn some dorm rooms and homes. Soon, they will be replaced by images of cornucopias, turkeys and pilgrims, all welcoming Thanksgiving at the end of the month.
Here in Poland, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day replace Halloween almost entirely. Although one of my professors declared that Halloween was gradually being adopted and that pumpkins were available "everywhere" for the occasion, my fellow study abroad students and I became excited at the sight of jack-o-lanterns or any type of fall decorations around the city of Krakow.
Still, the holiday was by no means the extravaganza it is in the United States. And, of course, Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday, so while Jagiellonian University's Centre for European Studies organizes a Thanksgiving dinner of sorts, there will be no cornucopias, turkeys or pilgrims for me this year.
Tough, I expected all this, I didn't anticipate the commercial lull the lack of holidays could potentially leave in its wake. It could be a business disaster! But fear not. Europe has found a way to market the season - it's Christmas already!
Yes, the winter holiday season has arrived in Krakow in the form of lights and garlands. I'm not referring to that overzealous family everyone has in his neighborhood that puts lights up long before the season has officially begun. These lights adorn storefronts and slowly infiltrate the rest of the city.
I've always felt disdain for any form of winter holiday celebration that came before Thanksgiving. After all, shouldn't Santa Claus parading through Times Square and Black Friday mark the beginning of the season?
In addition to my objections to starting the season off early, I think the whole season is overcommercialized as it is, as many of you might agree. How could it possibly be necessary to begin advertising the season almost an entire month early?
I guess I was most surprised because the United States is usually touted as the epitome of evil in terms of commercialization of holidays. Still, it seems the holiday season has crept up even more quickly here than at home. But really, as one of my fellow exchange students pointed out, is it any different than the United States? There is no commercial holiday to promote in November, so they begin the winter shopping season, hoping to stimulate business.
In all capitalist societies, profit means the same thing. And it seems that, if nothing else, economic realities unite disparate cultures whatever their traditions may be. So bring on the holidays - I'll be waiting for the snow to fall.
