Maybe I missed it but no one has mentioned Tom Lehrer's soulful Christmas song: Christmas time is here, by golly...

Then there's Loudon Wainwright's lovely song:

SUDDENLY IT'S CHRISTMAS
(Words & Music by Loudon Wainwright III
© 1993 Snowden Music Inc.
Slightly adapted by Charlie Ipcar - 1993)

  G               D            G      D  G C
  Suddenly it's Christmas, just after Halloween;
      G               D            C            D
  Forget about Thanksgiving, that buffet in between;
           G                D                       G      D    G   C
  There's lights and tinsel in the shops, they're stocking up the shelves;
   G              D                      C        D      G
  Santa's slaving at the Pole with his sweatshop full of elves.

There's got to be a build up for the day that Christ was born;
The malls are decked with pumpkins and ears of Injun corn;
Dragging through the falling leaves in a one-horse open sleigh;
Suddenly it's Christmas, seven weeks before the day.

          C               G            D       G D G
  CHORUS: Suddenly it's Christmas, the longest holiday
         C                 G                           C    G   D
  When they say "Seasons Greetings!", they mean just what they say;
          G              D            G     D  G C
  It's a season, it's a marathon – retail eternity,
               G              D               C             G
  And it's not over 'til it's over and you throw away the tree.

Outside it's nice and balmy, in the air nary a nip;
Suddenly it's Christmas, Santa's on his trip;
Yes, they're working overtime, Santa's little runts;
Christmas comes but once a year – and hangs on for two months.

Christmas carols in December, and November too;
It's no wonder we're depressed when the whole damn thing is through;
Finally, it's January, drag out Auld Lang Syne;
And here comes another heartache shaped like a valentine.

Chorus:

Suddenly it's Christmas, the longest holiday;
The season is upon us – it just won't go away;
It's a season, it's a marathon – retail eternity,
And it's not over 'til it's over and you throw away the tree;
No, it's not over 'til it's over and you throw away the tree;
It's still not over 'til it's over and you throw away the tree.

HTML preformat commands added. --JoeClone, 30-Nov-02.