Nov. 29: TIS ALWAYS THE SEASON

LAS CRUCES  - ‘Tis the season.

But then, when is it not, these days?

I have a couple of new holiday wreaths and a passel of presents on the bed in my guest room, and guests are coming to stay over the next few weeks.

I’ve been pondering since early November.

Should I hang the wreaths? Or is it too soon?

“Too soon?” the question we’ve come to associate with comedians’ insensitive jokes about embarrassing or even tragic matters, is what many of us are asking about two subjects well-bred children were once taught never to bring up at dinner parties and polite society.

Religion and politics.

Since the seasons for both Christmas and presidential races seem to be expanding from annual and quadrennial to perennial (or perpetual, if you prefer), both are subjects that are difficult to avoid.

Pundits began speculating about top 2016 contenders the night President Obama was elected to a second term. Though they didn’t see Dr. Carson or the Donald coming, a lot of attention has been devoted to many of the others in the still-crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls and the early kickoff doesn’t seem to have helped in the sorting process.

But campaigning has become big business and I don’t expect it to end anytime soon, any more than I expect that Thanksgiving will return to a quiet day of family, gratitude and feasting, instead of another crucial qualifying event in the holiday shopping Olympics.

And I do mean “another.” In recent years, we have added Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday and White Friday. For Las Cruces, White Friday will be Dec. 4 on Main Street Downtown, when many merchants will stay open until 9 p.m. and are urging us to “shop local, buy local.”

Christmas in July has been a staple for decades, so much so that there are even “Christmas in July presales” that start as early as March, just as many merchants are finally clearing out the last of their post-actual-Christmas merchandise.

Some local artists and craftpersons offer Christmas ornaments, décor and other holiday items year around at markets and fairs. Apparently, Christmas is a big, year-round tourist lure.

In a USA TODAY feature, Eric Grossman listed ten “communities that roll out the red-and-green carpet to visitors throughout the year:” North Pole, Alaska, Santa Claus, Ind., Bethlehem, Pa., Christmas, Fla., Frankenmuth, Mich., Solvang, Calif., Fredricksburg, Texas, Helen, Ga., Leavenworth, Wash., Vail, Colo.

On a much smaller scale, our own little adobe tourist mecca, Mesilla, also has some places that cater to holiday aficionados all year long. Galeria on the Plaza, 2410 Calle de Principal, has trees in the back of the store festooned with Southwestern-themed ornaments, and ‘Tis the Season de Mesilla, 2404 Avenida de Mesilla, specialized in Christmas ornaments and décor.

I can’t help wondering how the world would change if we invested just half of what we spend on presidential campaigns and holiday gifts in, say, college funding or food, clothing and shelter for children living below the poverty level, right here, in our own country.

Or maybe we wouldn’t mind so much if politicians seemed as eager to listen to us, please us and do what’s best for the nation when they finally in office as they are when they are perpetually campaigning for election or re-election.

And it would be wonderful if the spirit of Christmas and the calls for tolerance, peace on Earth and goodwill toward mankind were as omnipresent as the relentless pressure to deck our halls and run up our credit cards.

Many of us can still count on one day each year, Dec. 25, when politicians quit campaigning and most merchants close their doors. It’s still a wonderful time to gather with loved ones and think about what’s really important.

In the meantime, before and after, ‘tis the season.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com,  @derricksonmoore on Twitter and Tout, or call 575-541-5450.