Welcome to the actual Christmas season.

Not to sound over-dramatic, but I would like to prevent the impending war of the holidays.

So, someone has to say it: Back off, Christmas.

In early November, I was walking through a large retailer and stopped dead in my tracks. Christmas music was playing over the store speakers weeks before Thanksgiving.

Other stores already had red and green tags on deal items. Most stores threw out the Christmas trees, light and other items on the shelves before Halloween — it felt like some were practically out in September.

I am not a Scrooge when it comes to the holidays.

I enjoy Christmas, especially the break Christmas music offers. Typically by the time winter rolls around, I fall into a rut of being sick of every artist and genre I typically enjoy. The holidays offer a bit offer time apart from your favorite artists.

Just like all the Christmas cookies about to be simmering in ovens, the Christmas season is perishable. Start it too quickly and it reaches its limit in mid-December.

The holidays, like most things, is only good in the proper dose. Gorging on a Thanksgiving dinner to the point of illness doesn’t improve Thanksgiving.

It’s understandable why companies keep lengthening the Christmas season: It improves their chances of making money and having a successful season.

But, we’ve probably all already seen enough jewelry commercials this season to have advertising ditties play in our heads instantly when we hear the words “Jared” and “Kay.”

From late September to early October, it’s one holiday after another. It opens with Halloween and the slew of horror movies, transitions into turkey-stuffed Thanksgiving, and then — and only then — does the Christmas season begin.

But let people taste their Halloween candy, stuff themselves with turkey, and watch some football before shoving candy canes and eggnog down their throats.

Black Friday and, locally, Christmas in the City are the natural starting points for the Christmas season, so let’s not jump the gun too much.