HOLIDAY REPETITION

BRYCE ON LIFE

- It has become rather predictable.

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I happened to visit both my local drug store and supermarket on the day after Christmas. Interestingly, I noticed they were dutifully selling off holiday related food and items at rock-bottom prices, and starting to put out displays for Valentine's Day in February. Of course, I have seen this drill many times before over the years, but it still struck me as odd to see red hearts and exotic chocolates even before the year came officially to an end.

In the United States, we have taken holidays to the sublime as there is something to celebrate or commemorate every day of the year. Fortunately, there are only a handful of "official" holidays requiring the closing of schools, banks, and government offices. Some, like Valentine's Day and Halloween, may not be "official," but represent a marketing bonanza for retailers. The obsession with holidays makes you wonder if Americans ever work anymore.

The main holidays observed by retailers include:

Valentine's Day - February
Presidents' Day - February
Saint Patrick's Day - March
Easter, which is mid-April this year
Mother's Day - May
Memorial Day - May
Father's Day + Graduation - June
Independence Day - 4th of July
Labor Day - September
Halloween - October
Veteran's Day - November
Thanksgiving - November
Christmas - December
New Year's Eve - December

Many people also treat "Opening Day" for major sports as a holiday, as well as championship games. Regardless, these are the holidays retailer's rely on to sell such things as cards, candies, costumes, libations, food, perfumes, and gifts. Car and truck dealerships take it a step further by offering discounts and rebates on vehicles during these holidays. Then again, they offer these same deals throughout the year; they just broadcast more advertising to show their pseudo-holiday spirit. Even television programming changes to match the holidays to put people in the proper mood. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a mattress company not have a sale on one of these days?

There are, of course, many more holidays, but these represent the bread-and-butter for sales purposes. These holidays are so repetitious and predictable, you can practically set the time of day by simply walking into a store. Maybe this is all intended to keep us on some sort of timetable to maintain the cash flow of merchants.

Unfortunately, I have been through this so many times, they have killed my holiday spirit. Instead of celebrating such holidays, they have taught me to loathe them, which is rather sad. I guess I just resent merchants telling me what and how to celebrate. Now I know where Scrooge picked up, "Bah! Humbug!"; at Walmart no doubt.

Keep the Faith!

P.S. - Also do not forget my books, "How to Run a Nonprofit" and "Tim's Senior Moments", both available in Printed and eBook form.

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Tim Bryce is an author, freelance writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb1557@gmail.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2020 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

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