This morning’s (Thanksgiving Day) Des Moines Register had an interesting insert, the “Holiday Gift Guide!” Really? What “holiday” is that Register? The ads, which make this Thursday paper a little bigger than the Sunday paper, keep referencing an event tomorrow called “Black Friday”. A rather ominous name for an unspecified festive holiday. There seems to be a marketing disconnect there.

Aside from the idea your ad revenues spike this time of year and you are able to reap enormous profits celebrating a “holiday” you won’t name. That holiday for the deaf, dumb, and journalist, is  Christmas. The date chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The name that rankles the secular humanist to no end. The eternal conundrum, making money off of someone, but not acknowledging who He is. What to do, what to do…

Let me gaze into my crystal ball. I predict that on the local news tomorrow morning,  we will see footage of the mayhem, madness, and assaults that take place at the malls in the quest for Chinese plastic and clothing. I can’t help but feel there is some perversion of the Wise men bearing gifts to the newborn Savior taking place.  Otherwise this tradition of early morning mall raids and the opportunity to spend oneself into oblivion, arose for no reason at all.

The Register is at least being more honest than the Hallmark Channel. I’m watching The Walton’s one night  at the end of October when a crawl comes across the screen: “We are suspending The Walton’s until after Christmas so we may show you 24 hours of Christmas movies until then!” Which is ironic, as I have previously noted, Hallmark’s holiday movies have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Yet they insist on calling them the wrong name.

It was fun to watch the misplaced outrage this fall aimed at Starbucks and their snowflake free mugs. Then there is the sect of Christians futilely trying to warn us that December 25 is not the actual birthdate of the Savior!  This was a pagan holiday! (We know that.) Don’t even get them started on the Easter Bunny!