The other morning my radio alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. It seemed plenty early, as I only have a five minute commute to work, so I laid there in a pleasant state of not-awake-but-not-asleep listening to the radio. It wasn't until my wife asked me to turn off the radio that I awoke enough to realize what was playing: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Now I was confused. When I went to bed it was Halloween. That morning should have been Nov. 1. How did I manage to sleep through November and miss Thanksgiving? It turns out our formerly favorite morning radio station started playing continuous Christmas music on the day after Halloween this year.

That started us on a quest for a new radio station for morning wake-up time. The day after Halloween is too early for Christmas. I found another station that advertised itself as soft hits with a great AM show. I tuned the radio dial and set the alarm. I'm not sure but I think it was "O Come All Ye Faithful" that woke me up the next morning.

Two radio stations playing Christmas music in the first week of November? Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. You should see my collection of Christmas music CDs. I understand the idea of carrying the Christmas spirit year 'round.

But I like my holidays one at a time please. When I was little, the fall seemed neat and orderly. October was Halloween. November was Thanksgiving. Christmas came in December. Santa Claus always waited until the day after Thanksgiving to arrive, and that marked the first day of the Christmas season. That was when lights went on, stores decorated and the Sears Christmas toy catalog arrived.

It seems like each year the advent of Christmas is pushed up by retailers just a little more. I am sure I saw Christmas merchandise in Wal-Mart before Halloween this year and Home Depot was already selling flocked Christmas trees in early October. Another major retailer snuck their toy catalog into my home via my Sunday paper. It was printed in red and green with tree ornaments -- but no direct mention of Christmas.

Somebody once explained to me that a feast is not a regular meal, but an event for special occasions. If we had a feast for dinner every night, he said, a feast would cease to be a feast and become just another chowdown instead. I am concerned that as we prolong the length of commercial Christmas each year, the holiday itself becomes less special.

Now I don't want this to be just another "Christmas comes too early" column. Especially because I've complained about early Christmases before and nobody listens. So I am ready to compromise. I will throw in the towel and quit fretting over the early arrival of Christmas if we can do something about Thanksgiving.

Poor Thanksgiving now is sandwiched between Halloween -- the new start of the Christmas season -- and Christmas Day itself. With all the Christmas promotions, Thanksgiving is getting short changed.

I propose we move Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in January.

It wouldn't be the first time Thanksgiving was moved. Thanksgiving used to be the last Thursday in November. It was thus established by Abraham Lincoln by presidential proclamation in 1863 as a day to give thanks and to unite the nation. In 1939, '40 and '41, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. The move stirred quite a controversy at the time, and many Republicans continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the traditional day. In 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution setting Thanksgiving as the fourth -- not always the last -- Thursday in November.

January would be an ideal time in which to relocate Thanksgiving. The month is dark, cold and dismal -- plus everyone's credit cards are maxed-out from Christmas. Why not bring some joy to the month by letting us have a once-a-year meal with family and friends?

I know Thanksgiving is usually thought of as a fall harvest celebration, but is there ever a wrong time to give thanks? Let's do it in January and give the holiday its full due once again.

tgillie@tooeletranscript.com