People tend to shuffle along the same worn paths they've always followed. But why, I ask, must we trot around like blind sheep in the grocery store when a holiday approaches? Nevermind the fact that American holidays have lost most of their traditional religious meanings. The thing is, we don't even celebrate holidays. We just buy stuff.
I'm so tired of seeing the Easter candy lurking behind the Valentine's paraphernalia, which appears three days after Christmas. The yellow chick Peeps sit there innocently on the shelf waiting for the red heart-shaped Peeps to go out of style. Huge volumes of Marshmallow Peeps are manufactured and transported to stores everywhere... where they wait for months until Their Holiday arrives. As it says on the Just Born company website, Peeps are "always in season!"
Wouldn't it be nice to imagine a world where holiday traditions weren't dictated by the marketing of goods by vast industrial corporations?
