I am that friend.
That friend that starts bringing Christmas up WAY sooner than most people think it should be brought into normal everyday conversation. In fact, I'm pretty sure there really isn’t a time that I don’t think or talk about the holiday season. I am that friend that a lot of people even avoid mentioning any sort of Christmas lingo in order to prevent an all-out Christmas freak out right, including crying, singing, and a high pitched “I love Christmas” shout out there in the middle of a public place at the beginning of June. Yes, I am that one friend that starts celebrating, listening to Christmas music, thinking about the gifts I’m going to buy and decorations I am going to put up, and reviling in the pure joy of the Christmas spirit before the first leaf even begins to fall.
But let me tell you what…. I AM NOT ASHAMED!
Now before we start an all-out WAR on this conversation and I get all these people commenting on how “Halloween and Thanksgiving deserve their day as well” let me say I do appreciate all Holidays and their meanings/purpose so just take a deep breath. I am not writing this to put down any other Holiday but to simply explain myself and why I am so Christmas crazy!
Growing up Christmas seemed to never come fast enough. The joys of time spent with each other contain some of the best memories of my childhood. When I think of treasured moments I am reminded of the wonders of Christmases past. The moments filled with the season of wonder and joy. The decorating of the tree, writing letters to Santa, visiting family, constructing the handcrafted gifts for loved ones and attending Christmas Eve candle lit service. Then waking up (lets be honest who really slept) Christmas morning and the excitement of Santa’s recent presence. I can remember almost each Christmas so clear as if it was yesterday.
I am now aware of what Christmas meant then and even more aware of what it means in the present day. As a child Christmas was one filled with the excitement of stockings hung by the chimney, and of good old Saint Nicolas. Christmas carried an important meaning. With many days now past from my childhood, the emotions attached to this special time have grown and become so much more. More faith, more hope and more love than ever before. A hope for a new beginning. Faith so deep and passionate one cannot even fathom, and a love so pure that not a soul can break. I have now come full-circle in its understanding of what Christmas means to me.
To me Christmas is not a date but a state of mind. Throughout my life I have learned how much power and magic Christmas has on this world. Christmas brings a sort of blanket of hope for all those who need it. It is the time to celebrate. To celebrate a love that is given without consequence to each of us and that is so much more powerful then we could even imagine. It gives people a kind of Hope. A hope that there is something so much bigger and better in the world even through all the pain and the hurt. Christmas brings out a love that you can almost hear. Hear in the chatter among people, in the joy of families, and even in the silence of the night.
One of my favorite Christmas quotes can sum it up pretty well
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
So yes, I celebrate Christmas early. But to me Christmas should be celebrated all year round. So I guess I’ll compromise and give it a few months 🙂
