This past week, as I've watched the Easter displays in stores disappear, I've felt the heaviness of the end of a holiday, more than I usually do.
I don't do much to celebrate Easter anymore...to me it's more of a children's holiday, celebration-wise, what with the egg hunts and Easter Bunny lore and all, but I do feel a great deal of nostalgia when I think about it. This past season was eye-opening for me when it comes to the impression Easter made on me as a child, realizing how many memories I have attached to it, though I doubt it could ever be a favorite holiday ever again, at least in the traditional sense. Was I sad to see it end after the wave of nostalgia it brought me? Of course. But that also doesn't mean that I can't still think about those things now. It's long been established that living life by a calendar is absolutely beneath me.
I've realized, now, though, watching the displays get taken down and torn apart and built back into something else, what the actual issue is.
The seasonal aisle becomes downright boring after Easter!
People always complain about how depressing the time after Christmas is. How there are no holidays and "nothing to look forward to". But, even if it is a little early by certain standards, Valentine's Day stuff starts appearing almost immediately once Christmas has passed. And, immediately after that, or sometimes even coinciding, is Easter.
Now, even if you don't really celebrate these holidays, there's no denying that the little toys and candy and things that get put out between January and March/April are super cute and fun. It's hard not to get nostalgic pangs, when walking past heart-eyed animals, punny valentines, the same chocolate bunnies and colorful eggs that seem to have existed since the dawn of time, etc. This year, in particular, I've found myself missing that feeling now that it's gone.
And then, I think about what's taking over the shelves now.
My mortal enemy in this lifetime, summer.
Honestly, even if I still enjoyed summer as a season, there's no denying that the retail aspect of it, really isn't all that exciting.
Patio sets. Pool cleaner. Excess ketchup and mustard. Grill brushes.
Yes, there are some toys sprinkled throughout, but nothing particularly cute or exciting. The same neon-bright balls, inflatable pool toys, maybe some baseball bats or hula hoops or jump ropes, but nothing particularly special.
Yes, I know summer is some people’s favorite season, but it’s becoming harder and harder to understand why. The emptiness and desolation that some people see in winter, I see in summer more and more. Summer is a string of same old, same old, holiday wise. Barbecues. Maybe fireworks. Nothing you can’t do any other day of the year. In my town, people barbecue every weekend once the weather gets "nice". It doesn't matter if it's July 4th or August 12th. It's all just one big mass of sameness.
And as the summer displays finally start to come apart, they will be replaced with school supplies. Pens and pencils, binders and folders, rulers, lunchboxes, backpacks...things that stores normally sell anyway. No excitement. No true moments of nostalgia. And it will remain that way until Halloween hits the shelves.
Halloween comes, and the displays suddenly become happy again. They call out to the inner child inside us all, with pumpkins and candy and costumes, reminding us that life isn't always so mundane, as mundane as it's been since the day Easter ended and the once-fun seasonal aisles became reminders of yard work and long hours behind a desk in school.
Say what you want about winter, but at least during that span of time, the seasonal aisles are festive and fun, no matter what you actually celebrate. But now, in most stores, for the next five or six months, the seasonal aisles will be boring.
Until Halloween comes around again.
Stay spooky, my friends.
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