Have you noticed that Christmas seems to come earlier each year? It鈥檚 technically on Dec. 25, but in terms of that tangible moment when the Christmas 鈥渟pirit鈥� starts, it鈥檚 more like October. Maybe even September.

I swear I saw Christmas tree ornaments at a crafts store in late August. I may be 91传媒, but to me, that鈥檚 sacrilegious.

Speaking of sacrilegious, Puritans in Boston in 1659 made it a criminal offense to publicly celebrate Christmas, alleging a certain sinfulness in all the merrymaking. Maybe someone had put up decorations a little too soon and angered the towns-folk. That law was among those revoked in 1681.

I鈥檓 one of those Jews who loves singing along to nonreligious Christmas tunes 鈥� more 鈥淛ingle Bell Rock鈥� and less 鈥淥 Come, All Ye Faithful.鈥� And although I love all the decorations in the stores and on the streets, their early arrival is becoming ridiculous.

There must be some psychological reasons behind all this.

Scientists theorize putting up Christmas decorations earlier makes people happier, according to a November 2017 story in London鈥檚 Evening Standard. 鈥淚n a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of childhood,鈥� psychoanalyst Steve McKeown said.

I guess because we鈥檙e living in a time of such divisiveness, maybe some early holiday cheer can help lift our moods. I recall there were some Democrats who went overboard with holiday decor after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016. If he is re-elected next year, they may have to start their own reindeer farm.

鈥淭herapy reindeer鈥� could be a huge draw.

Still, I鈥檓 not convinced that the Christmas 鈥渟pirit鈥� seems to arrive earlier each year because we are more stressed.

I鈥檓 not convinced that the Christmas 鈥渟pirit鈥� seems to arrive earlier each year because we are more stressed.

I wondered if Jews in Israel catch the Hanukkah bug early. If the Christmas 鈥渟pirit鈥� is unleashed early because we鈥檙e under so much stress, wouldn鈥檛 it make sense for Israelis 鈥� who endure proxy wars, rocket attacks and relentless international demonization 鈥� to start celebrating Hanukkah three months early?

鈥淭he only sign of Hanukkah before it actually starts is all the sufganiyot (doughnuts) that seem to pop up right after the High Holy Days,鈥� a friend in Israel observed.

Early arrival of doughnuts. Now 迟丑别谤别鈥檚 an inspiring holiday consumer trend.

I asked a friend who is in her 90s if she recalled the holiday season in the early 1940s. The U.S. was embroiled in a world war and collective stress was palpable, so by all reasoning, the Christmas spirit should have been evident months before December.

鈥淣ot at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tores put up decorations two, maybe three weeks before Christmas. Anything earlier than that would have been too suggestive.鈥�

Too suggestive of what? I asked.

鈥淚t would have seemed like Christmas was all about money and spending money at the stores, instead of something more meaningful.鈥�

Bingo. Money, money, money.

I can鈥檛 quite put my finger on it, but money considerations aside, it seems silly for Jews to kick off the Hanukkah holiday weeks or months in advance.

Maybe Jews, whether in Israel or the United States, simply don鈥檛 feel the need to 鈥済o all out鈥� once a year because we light candles every week 鈥� on Shabbat.

You don鈥檛 have to keep all the laws of Shabbat to be affected by its power to 鈥渄ecorate鈥� your home and lift your mood with all things wonderful: food, family and even the good china plates,听 which others normally reserve for only Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I still love the holiday spirit, even if it starts ridiculously early. But because Jews excel at complaining, would it kill someone to pass out the doughnuts a little earlier next year?

Tabby Refael is a Los Angeles-based writer and speaker.