OPINION: Forget Black Friday; wait until Three Kings Day
Photo credit: Getty Images | Peter, the Santa Claus of Berlin's most famous department store KaDeWe, poses on front of a colorful Christmas tree during the presentation of the Christmas decoration on November 25, 2009.
Today is Black Friday, and the malls and big box stores will be mobbed with shoppers desperate to buy Zhu Zhu Pets and save money on other hot holiday gifts to be given on Christmas Day. The melee of this weekend gets me thinking that maybe it's time to consider taking personal and economic pressure off ourselves by celebrating Three Kings Day.
The Twelfth Day of Christmas on Christian calendars is Jan. 6, the Epiphany. For old-school Italians, that's the day you get the presents. Dec. 25 was about the birth of Jesus; Jan. 6 was about getting goodies.
Three Kings Day was the day the three wise men found baby Jesus in the manger and gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. It was the first recorded baby shower in history. Jesus' mother, Mary, had just given birth in a barn. She got myrrh when she really needed a bassinet. Mary had her own epiphany: Never invite men to a baby shower.
It's time for Christians in America to bring back Three Kings Day, to remember the true giving spirit of Christmas. Last year, my sister-in-law had her Christmas cards filled out by Labor Day, put up the Christmas tree on Halloween, and took it down at 11 o'clock Christmas night. She had to get her Valentine's Day decorations up by New Year's.
What ever happened to enjoying the season and celebrating all 12 days?
During hard economic times, there are advantages to giving your gifts on Three Kings Day instead of Christmas. For one thing, presents are cheaper if you start shopping on the 26th.
Three Kings Day is also better for the environment. Instead of buying your own Christmas tree, you can pick one of your neighbors' trees from the curb. Hey, if you live next door to my sister-in-law, you can even get your tree on the morning of the 26th - complete with free tinsel. Save a tree and get free tinsel. We call that being green in my book.
Whether you are Christian or not, the Christmas spirit is something that should be spread out and savored. Americans should focus less on buying and more on giving.
So when you're planning this year's holiday season, consider roping off Jan. 6 to honor the original givers, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
And while you're at it. consider saving some of that holiday spirit not just for the 12 days of Christmas, but for the rest of 2010 as well.
Thomas J. Kelly, of Massapequa, is the warm-up comedian for "The View."
