It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween, but I’m dreaming of a fright Christmas

But does it really matter? For generations, children’s hearts have been at the centre of both Christmas and Halloween. Are the stakes unacceptably high if the two are presented so early, and at once?

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Each holiday focuses on family, friends, food and relaxation and encourages reflection on the value of togetherness, which all sounds pretty good. The problem with submitting to the tsunami of Yule-ween, is that there is an emptiness that follows the ransacking of authentic meaning from cultural rites.

When we lose our way maintaining the intellectual heart of the traditions we keep, the vacuum will be filled: in this case, by rubbish. Ignoring the incongruity of the relentless co-promotion of Halloween and Christmas, reveals a more sinister theme – that we embrace the disposable, choose the temporary and grasp for impulsive trash over treasure.

Melding the merchandise into one mammoth shopping spree is tempting on a monstrous level. With the spending frenzy squared, our multiplying consumption of non-recyclable waste is the real horror show. One may ask why we buy it.

Perhaps the cure is to push back the tide and resist the temptation to fill our trolleys from September. If we need a spell to ward away the evil spectre, let’s cast it at the till.

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Stick the mince pies back in the freezer and use October to remember loved ones’ past. As the summer takes hold, look forward to chestnuts roasting on an open fire (pending your local “alert levels”) and ponder the true meaning of Christmas, for you.

No need to feel hot and cross, the buns are on the way.

As Bing Crosby may yet croon from his grave – “may your pay be scarily right, and may all your Christmases bring a fright”.