BUSINESSES BOOST SPIRITS WITH HOLIDAY DECORATIONS

The Christmas season is upon us.

For retailers, it's cause to celebrate. Today, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. The ringing of the cash register is a sound of Christmas that businesses like to hear. That's understandable.

For many retailers, the Christmas season accounts for up to half the year's sales and profits.

It's easy to decry the commercialization of the holiday season, but if we were all Scrooges, the economy would clearly suffer.

And shopping is as much a part of the holiday season today as Christmas trees and Santa.

Even before Thanksgiving, Cape Girardeau retailers were reporting near-record sales as shoppers got a jump on filling those Christmas lists. That's in sharp contrast to July and August when sales were slow, something most merchants blame on the devastating flooding.

Harry Rediger, manager of the JCPenney store at West Park Mall, says that more and more Christmas shoppers buy their presents in October and November and then in the last week before Christmas.

The strong pre-Thanksgiving sales in this area give reason to believe that area residents are indeed ready for Christmas.

Businesses are Santa's workshop. They also boost our spirits with their holiday decorations.

We enjoy walking through a store decked out in Christmas cheer, viewing the colorful Santas at the mall or gazing at the unique Christmas windows such as the one at the Hutson Furniture store in Cape Girardeau. This year's mall decorations are some of the best ever, and represent a sizeable investment -- more than $90,000 lisst price. The centerpiece is a 24-foot tree with Christmas lights. The Hutson family opened its 33rd Christmas window on Thanksgiving Day -- a true holiday tradition viewed by thousands each year.

Across the region, tree lots filled with Scotch pine serve up a pleasing holiday aroma. It, too, helps set the stage for Christmas.

Christmas parades also add to the occasion.

Parades in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Chaffee will help kickoff the Yuletide season. This year for the first time since the mid-1950s, Cape Girardeau will have a Christmas parade. It will be held Sunday, beginning at 5. We're glad to see the re-emergence of such a holiday happening here. It can only add to the community's Christmas spirit.

The Cape Girardeau Christmas Parade of Lights will begin at Capaha park with the lighting of the city's holiday lights. It will proceed along Broadway to the downtown area.

The Cape parade will coincide with the annual downtown Christmas Walk. Downtown businesses will stay open from 1-8 p.m. Sunday.

Jackson's annual Christmas parade will be held on Dec. 4; Chaffee's, on Dec. 11.

For both the merchant and the consumer, Christmas is a special time.

We recognize that the Christmas season is first and foremost a religious celebration. But it's also a season of secular celebration, of simple good cheer and a pat on the back for our fellow man. Economic prosperity is not just a stocking stuffer for some economist. It adds to the holiday cheer for the whole Cape Girardeau area.

Healthy businesses make the whole region stronger. They provide for a sound tax base, give employment to thousands, and make substantial donations to Christmas charities.

They truly make for a brighter Christmas.