'Christmas creep': Is it too soon for holiday decorations?

Christmas displays seem to be popping up earlier every year and some say we should take more time between holidays. (CTV Calgary)

With Halloween now past, some retailers are already preparing for the holiday season. But some customers believe that it's too soon to be mounting Christmas decorations, especially as the country has not yet observed Remembrance Day.

The shift from orange and black to red and green appeared to happen nearly overnight in stores and businesses across the country.

Starbucks, for example, unveiled its holiday cups and drinks this week. Other stores, like Canadian Tire, began to stock their shelves with holiday merchandise.

Calgary resident Luba Kozak said she was a bit taken aback to see Christmas decorations already going up.

"It was a little bit of a surprise," she told CTV Calgary. "It's something that I expect maybe in December; November is a little early."

But Shashi Behl, owner of the gift shop Twisted Goods, said that for many businesses Nov. 1 marks the starts of the holiday shopping season.

"When you break it down like that, that's not a lot of time left, because most of our shopping happens in the mall environment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," she said.

But there are a lot of Canadians who feel that it's too soon to be celebrating the holidays, especially because the country has yet to mark Remembrance Day.

Businessman Brett Wilson kicked off a social media campaign to end the so-called "Christmas creep." In a tweet he called on retailers to hold off on the Christmas decorations and to focus on red poppies instead.

That sentiment is being echoed by many veterans.

At a monthly luncheon at the Southwest branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, veteran Don Strachan said he'd prefer if stores held off until after the country pauses to remember the sacrifice made by members of Canada's Armed Forces.

"I would to see businesses respect Remembrance Day and tone it down a little bit," he said.

But many shoppers said they still intend to observe the solemn day, regardless of all the trees and tinsel.

Shopper Wayne Slater said he doesn't think the decorations will detract from Remembrance Day. "We're going to be thinking about everything the other way too, with Remembrance Day as well," he said.

With a report from CTV Calgary's Ina Sidhu