I think I've found the unintended consequence of the "Christmas season," at least as far as shopping goes, starting earlier and earlier every year: It's protected Thanksgiving and left it relatively untouched by commercialism. Not that I'm not a big fan of commercialism, capitalism, consumerism, mind you -- but it's nice to have one holiday, and especially the Thanksgiving holiday -- comfortably overlooked by the forces of commerce.

Another thing I love about Thanksgiving is that there are no real social expectations, beyond, well, eating. It's not like Halloween where people dress up in costumes that, generally, would be laughed off the stage of an eight-grade production of South Pacific or Christmas with its coercive demands for holiday cheer. It's just a nice day to take a break, relax, and think about the things you should be thankful for.

And eat turkey until you pass out, too.