Within a few days Christmas will end. Any signs that it ever existed will be eradicated from the shops that have been pushing it (hard) since late October. We've had Christmas songs, snowmen and endless Santas all framed by holly and snow scenes.
And now it's over. It seems amazing that there's all that fuss about one day but there are plenty of reasons, all to do with money.
Without the Christmas binge many retailers struggle. For this short period of the year people are encouraged to forget about debt and cashflow. They stack up bills on their credit cards, convinced by the numerous adverts that you must show your love for someone by buying him/her an iPad air or whatever. And the competitive forces in the industry mean firms have to join in with the hard sell or lose out to their rivals.
So now it's over. But there's only a short break. It's not long until February and Valentine's day. When you have to prove your worth by buying your loved one loads of chocolate, maybe an iPad air…