You’ve got to be kidding me on this. One of my neighbors has put a Halloween-themed doormat outside his door. It has ghosts and bats and jack-o-lanterns and orange and black. It screams “Halloween” — nearly as much as it screams “stupid.”

It’s bad enough that Christmas season now starts at the ridiculously early date of Nov. 1. Unless I’m remembering wrong, there was a time in my lifetime when Christmas season didn’t begin until after Thanksgiving. Now the Christmas-related ads start as soon as Halloween is over.

And now we have people who think that Sept. 9 — repeat, Sept. 9 — is early enough to start in on Halloween? Please. This madness has to stop.

Listen, people. Halloween is not a season. It’s barely a holiday, because no one gets off work. It’s a chance for kids to go out and get candy, and for adults (who don’t have kids) to go out and get drunk. I personally have not celebrated Halloween for a very long time. I doubt I will again until I have kids.

But even then, I will never condone Sept. 9 as a start date for Halloween “season.” Hell, I won’t even condone Oct. 9. I’ll give you the week of Halloween, and that’s it. The only reason I give you the entire week is because people who have parties might want to do it on the weekend prior to Oct. 31. Otherwise, I would only give you the day itself.

How did Halloween become this overhyped, overlong … thing? Probably corporate lobbyist trying to sell candy and costumes.