Thoughts from the Bullpen: Corporate America commercializing Christmas

Merry Holiday, everyone.

Yes, only three more days until Holiday, so I hope you all have your shopping done. Have you figured out what to get your friends for Holiday? Do you think the kids will be excited to run down and look under the holiday tree to see what Santa has brought them for Holiday?

Does this all sound pretty damn stupid? Yep!

Forget Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or even Festivus. These names just don’t have any meaning anymore. Corporate America has decided it is just easier to market to everyone and just use a generic word: Holiday.

By losing the word Christmas, we can now start gearing up for the “holiday season” before Halloween, as we did this year on San Fernando when they started hanging the lights on trees.

Thanksgiving — forget about it. How does that make money for businesses? It’s just some stupid family day where everyone sits around and bonds together every year. No money in that.

In fact, corporate America is so mad they aren’t making money that day that they are now opening stores on Thanksgiving to get a head start on “Black Friday.” And isn’t it great that they even name the day for businesses making money.

In fact, we now have “Cyber Monday,” and our new day, “Super Saturday” — all days that tell you just how much the businesses are making that day.

Sure, that’s national stuff, but we are just as guilty here in Burbank. We have our Holiday in the Park before Thanksgiving, along with a Santa and everything else that yells Christmas.

And while you sit there, nod your head in agreement, pick up a mirror and look into it, because you are just as guilty as the corporations.

It starts the same way. You go to the garage and pull out the Christmas lights and decorate your house the same way you did last year, and the year before, and the year before. Why not mix it up a little? Do something new and different each year?

It’s because you just don’t really care. You do it because it is expected, not because you are actually excited about it.

Businesses do the same thing. They put up their little decorations every year, year after year. The fake boxes that look like presents under a fake tree.

And let’s not forget the guilt factor associated with Christmas.

How many of you give something to a homeless person because it is Christmastime? Nice thought, but why can’t you open your heart in May instead of walking by that guy with your nose in the air. How about going to church? For some reason people feel they have to go Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and then will probably miss the next 51 weeks of the year.

It’s not about religion (I love all religions, so please don’t kill me or start a war); it’s just about celebrating a day that seems to be universal all over this planet.

I can hardly wait until Dec. 26 when everyone just goes back to being a jerk again — at least that’s something I can deal with.

CRAIG SHERWOOD is the executive editor of BurbankNBeyond.com and a baseball coach at Burbank High School. He can be reached at csherwood@burbanknbeyond.com.