Christmas comes early... again

There has been some furore in the press this weekend about department stores selling Christmas items four months early. This is what the Sun had to say about it (in the Sun's usual tone-down style).

The latest store to get a lambasting is Selfridges' in London. As the Sun puts it, 'Posh Selfridges on London's Oxford Street is selling trees and decorations from a basement Christmas store.'

Now, I don't know what all the fuss is about. As reported on the blog last year, Harrods has a whole Christmas department open from the start of August, and in Disneyworld in Florida there are dedicated Christmas shops open all year round.

Church leaders are apparently concerned that, 'We should not forget the true meaning of Christmas which is to celebrate the birth of Christ.'

Now, sorry to be blunt, but for many these days, Christ is not uppermost in their minds when they think about Christmas, even in December. And for others, the opportunity to buy early just helps them to be more organised when it comes to Christmas which is an incredible busy and pressured time of year. And, of course, many businesses depend on Christmas sales to make any money and stay afloat at all, such as The Christmas Shop in Lechlade, Glouscestershire, or Old Rowland's Christmas and Gift Shop in Cheddar, Somerset.