‘Surely we shouldn’t already be thinking about Christmas?’

Reckon that’s a bit premature?

Well, ask some of the supermarkets and big stores around the country.

They’ve been stocking Christmas goodies - and plenty of tat - for a good few weeks now, even while we’ve been enjoying the last of the summer sun. It was still the cricket season, for Heaven’s sake.

They’re in a race against each other to cash in on what for them is the most lucrative time of the year. ’tis the season to be jolly and make loadsa lolly.

Shoppers are being bombarded with Yuletide fare with the aim of getting them to splash as much cash as possible.

“They’ve been stocking Christmas goodies - and plenty of tat - for a good few weeks now...” (Image: Newsquest) By the time the big day arrives, we’ll have been inundated for over three months with reminders of what should be the most beautiful time of the year. That’s more than a quarter of the year.

And come January, stores will be discounting cards, Santa hats, Advent calendars, crackers, tinsel and 2025 diaries to shift unsold stock to try and squeeze a bit more money out of us.

But surely, we shouldn’t already be thinking about Chrimbo. What ever would Scrooge have thought of it all?

Before then, we’ve got Hallowe’en and Guy Fawkes, other commercial opportunities for businesses to think about.

But with the joyous occasion seemingly starting earlier and earlier each year, it erodes the magic of it all.

County Gazette columnist Phil Hill. (Image: Newsquest)

Christmas used to be first and foremost a religious celebration with families gathered around the tree, carols in the street and at church, games of charades and The Sound of Music on TV.

If children were lucky, they’d get a stocking with a couple of mandarins, a chocolate bar and a surprise toy.

Now it’s been turned into an opportunity for greedy corporates to boost takings and threatens to cause financial hardship for families during these straitened times.

The same has happened with Easter. Time was when chocolate eggs went on sale for a week or two and then melted away off the shelves for another year.

Now you can buy one of those sickly creme eggs from New Year’s Day until Easter Sunday.

We may have extended Christmas and Easter, but businesses can breathe a sigh of relief as none us is likely to lengthen our Lent sacrifices by giving up certain goodies for longer than the traditional 40 days.