By Chris Cosci

October has arrived, and it is such a wonderful time of year. The oppressive humidity of the summer gives way to cool, crisp autumn days. The leaves on the trees begin to change color. Apple trees become ripe with delicious fruit, ready to be made into pies and cider.

And stores start selling Christmas items.

Yes, fall has just begun, yet stores have already dusted off the shelves and started stocking up with ornaments and decorations. I was in Macy's the other day, and I could hardly believe it when I saw that they had already opened an entire Christmas section.

While sane people have just started thinking about scheduling a trip down to the pumpkin patch for some Halloween decorations, the crazed personnel of department stores have decided to skip a couple of holidays and go straight for the consumer goldmine. For the stores, it's never too early to start selling the Christmas goods.

In their own special way, storeowners have taken a one-day religious celebration and turned it into a three-month-long shopping binge. As the years go by, the push to start selling Christmas stuff begins earlier and earlier. Within a few years, back-to-school sales will be replaced by prepare-for-Christmas-break sales. In a few more years, stores will start selling Christmas trees as graduation gifts. Eventually, marketing Christmas will become a year-round operation.

We have already seen signs of what things would look like if Christmas happened all year long. In some small towns, people have inexplicably decided to leave their Christmas lights up permanently. There's nothing more absurd than driving in town during a hot night in June and passing a house with icicle lights hanging from the roof.

For now, the Christmas rush is just beginning. Within the next couple of weeks, while normal people start carving pumpkins, making costumes, and baking caramel apples, record companies will start releasing Christmas CD's, Hallmark will start selling snowflake wrapping paper, and "It's a Wonderful Life" will start appearing in the television listings.

If you want to see this rush for yourself, head over to any major bookstore like Barnes & Nobles or Borders. Do you see what they're selling? Calendars. That's right. Time is running out. You only have a short three months left until the year is over. And where will you be if you don't pick up your calendar today? It will be January 1 and you'll be looking back to today and saying to yourself, "why didn't I buy a calendar when I had the chance? Those last three months just flew by before I even noticed."

Don't let this Christmas pass you by before you get to enjoy it. This weekend, take some time to hang up your Christmas stockings, deck the halls with mistletoe, and break out your copy of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. And if you're still not in the holiday spirit, a representative from Hallmark will be at your door shortly.