The days of the year have gone by, and once again, the frosty scene on the calendar reminds the world that Christmas is approaching.

Christmas means different things to different people. Some see it as a religious event, others see it as a winter solstice, and still others view it as just another day. No one, however, views it in quite the same way as commercial America.

Most businesses for example, as is the tradition with businesses, will do anything to make a dollar. Christmas paraphernalia can usually be spotted in stores around September (a whole three months before the actual holiday).

As the month of December draws nearer, the stores acquire more, and more Christmas decorations. They multiply so fast, soon they consume nearby aisles, and then, their hunger still rampant, entire sections of the store.

Store employees also undergo a strange transformation and are soon seen scampering to and fro adorned with Santa hats and jingling sleigh bells. That of course, makes them easy to find, but can soon drive the average shopper to start hunting for festive holiday ear plugs.

Normally reclusive members of the store staff, such as the manager, will venture forth from their secret hidey-holes and mingle with the customers in an attempt to make to a sale.

Soon, it becomes impossible to escape Christmas, it’s everywhere. Commercials blare from every radio and television advertising what everyone is looking for: the highly coveted, "Perfect Gift."

The alleged "Perfect Gift" can be anything from a garbage can to a garden rake, and usually sells for what is advertised as an Amazing Discount. People soon find themselves flocking to the local hardware store and buying bags of nails under the delusion that their loved one will always be able to find a use for one, and after all, it was only nine dollars for 1000 of them.

The next step of commercialization occurs at home. Parents across the country are strangely drawn to the idea of brainwashing small children into believing in the jolliest and oldest elf: Santa Claus.

Santa Claus however, is not only fun for children. Businesses love jolly ‘ol St. Nick, as do organizations.

Everyone has seen it, someone in the traditional red attire perched in an enormous chair in the center of a mall or department store. Small children and irate parents stand in line to see him while perky college students disguised as elves hand out candy canes and cheap plastic toys to the kids in line. (Special note: These are the same people who later take a lopsided picture of the kid on Santa’s lap and then charge six bucks for it, and I’m not talking reindeer).

Where is the holiday spirit of giving?

The Salvation Army seems to believe the spirit of giving resides on damp street corners, which is where they attempt to drum up money during the Christmas season.

To accomplish the task of harnessing the Christmas spirit, they send one of their volunteers to a favorable location for collecting (i.e. a damp street corner). The volunteer is equipped with only a red suit, a swinging donation pot, and a large bell.

This person now stands on the appointed street corner and continually tolls the bell in an attempt to ring up a little Yuletide cheer.

Does the sight and sound of this person really entice people to be charitable? Perhaps it will never be known, but at least thanks to all their bell tolling, about a million angels have gotten their wings. (Remember, every time a bell rings, an angels gets it’s wings)

Perhaps Charlie Brown said it best in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when he defied convention and declared to the world, "I won’t let all this commercialization spoil my Christmas." And he didn't. He failed to bow to temptation, not being corrupted by aluminum Christmas trees, gifts, or decorations.

Soon Christmas will be here and gone, like so many holidays before it, and the blinking lights and tinsel will once more vanish from the shelves of the store.

As the store manager reverts back to his reclusive ways and the Salvation Army disappears from the street corner, take heart, because the next Christmas is only 365 days away.