By Two & Out

PETERS: More than just an irritation, Christmas Creep could be harmful to your health

Nov 22, 2018 | 4:18 PM

CHRISTMAS CREEP shows no signs of abating, does it?

Costco, of course, has long been the retail standard-bearer for introducing holiday merchandise well ahead of the holidays themselves.

This year, holiday items showed up in Costco in August and no one batted an eye.

Other retailers, though, are doing their best to catch up.

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Veterans have tried to put a stop to the madness by saying it’s disrespectful to start celebrating the holidays before Remembrance Day.

But sadly, the will of the retail economy seems to be more powerful than society’s collective respect for veterans.

Will it stop at Halloween?

Or will we have ghosts and goblins tiptoeing through nativity scenes on their annual trick-or-treating journeys?

Retailers will tell you that the holiday spirit and the spending spirit are close relatives, and that’s why expanding the Christmas season as wide as possible is good for their bottom lines.

Besides the humbug factor, stretching out the holiday season may actually be hazardous to one’s health.

A British clinical psychologist says hearing Christmas music, for example, can actually incite stress, making people feel trapped by all of their obligations — planning parties, buying gifts, decorating and so on.

Of course, that plays right into the hands of retailers.

The most logical reason to resist Christmas Creep is simply because it dilutes the season — waters it down and stretches it too thin.

If we want to keep the season magical and special, then it can’t get too big.

Arbitrarily, December 1 seems like a good date to get the festivities started.

Too much of a good thing is not a better thing, just like the biggest Christmas gifts aren’t always the best.