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I like to think of myself as frugal. My friends are more fond of another word to describe me: cheap. The bottom line is that I enjoy top-quality stuff but I just hate paying top dollar for it.

Which is why Dec. 26 is my favorite shopping day of the year. The bad weather is actually good because it keeps the crowds down. I'm on North Michigan Avenue early, trudging from Nordstrom and Burberry to Saks and Barneys in search of sweet deals on luxury brands.

The sole problem with this yearly low-budget commercial excursion is that I'm the only beneficiary. I get everything I want for Christmas, albeit a day late, but because waistlines, style and circles of friends always change, I can't really stock up for others so early, so I usually end up paying full price for the gifts I get for my family and friends, which is not something I enjoy.

But I had an idea recently about how to remedy the situation so everyone could benefit. All we need to do is celebrate Christmas on a different, slightly later day. And the more I investigated the idea, the more sense it made.

First, some say it's a safe bet Christ was not born on Dec. 25 anyway. According to christiananswers.net, "One problem with December is that it would be unusual for shepherds to be `abiding in the field' at this cold time of year when fields were unproductive. The normal practice was to keep the flocks in the fields from spring to autumn. Also, winter would likely be an especially difficult time for pregnant Mary to travel the long distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem [70 miles]. A more probable time would be late September, the time of the annual Feast of Tabernacles, when such travel was commonly accepted."

So why is Christmas celebrated on Dec. 25? According to the History Channel's Web site, that date was picked by Pope Julius I "in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival." But since not a lot of people are Saturnalia festival freaks anymore, that argument also goes by the wayside.

So if it's not going to be Dec. 25, what day might work? It has to be close enough to Dec. 26 to take advantage of all of the cut-rate after-Christmas sales, but it also has to be in the true spirit of the occasion. One day fits those parameters perfectly: the Martin Luther King holiday.

King's legacy is obviously closer to the true spirit of Christmas than the arbitrary, out-of-date reasons we now celebrate Christ's birth on Dec. 25. But there also are terrific practical reasons. It's always on a Monday, which guarantees you a long weekend with your family. And it gives you ample time to scour the sales and get your loved ones even more and better gifts than you ever could.

King preached economic self-determination, so it's a safe bet that he would have been OK with changing the date of Christmas if he knew that it would have a positive economic impact on his flock. It's doubtful, though, that retailers will be thrilled with the concept. Once stores realize no one is buying anything until the after-Christmas sales start, they'll just delay slashing their prices until after the MLK holiday. Once commerce catches up, though, we can all start celebrating Christmas on Feb. 12, Abraham Lincoln's birthday. It will be an emancipation from high prices.