published December 1, 2011
in the Stockton Sentinel
Stockton, Kansas
Not until the
left-over Thanksgiving turkey is safely packed into the refrigerator do I allow
myself to begin thinking seriously about Christmas. It just doesn’t seem right
to overlook one of the most wonderful holidays of the year while getting all in
a tither about the next wonderful holiday. Can we just please give each holiday
its own special place of honor? After all, the word holiday is derived from the
ancient words for “Holy Day,” which most holidays actually used to be.
Our socio-economic
system, driven by the media, has taken over and has all but pushed Thanksgiving
off of the calendar. The Christmas season in the retail world now begins in
October, when stores begin bringing out decorations and gifts and filling the
shelves, just as summer clearance is winding down. Then we become bombarded
with ads the size of catalogs and catalogs the size of phone books.
I didn’t hear of any
deaths this year on Black Friday as the excited and/or angry mobs pushed their
way into stores, but there were certainly many injuries from fights and
scuffles and pepper spray, of all things. News stories showed a lot of
frustration, pushing, shoving, and downright greediness. My goodness! What have
we become? How did we allow this to happen? What happened to the heavenly peace
in our not-so-silent nights of shopping and baking and planning and buying and
decorating and practicing and, and, and? Where are you, Christmas?
Amidst all the hustle
and bustle of this time of year, we all need something to keep us focused on
the reason for the season. I don’t know what that may be for you, but for me,
it is the music of Christmas. I love Christmas music. And I’m not talking about
the “Grandma got run over by a reindeer” kind of Christmas music; I’m talking
about traditional carols and songs. I could listen to O Holy Night
or The First Noel all year-round,
but I make myself wait until after Thanksgiving to turn on the music of the
Christmas season. There is joy in anticipation.
For some people
(apparently millions of people), there is joy in anticipation while waiting in
line for hours for a store to open, just so they can scream and run and grab a
discounted item, and then wait for another hour or more in the check-out line
to pay for it. It’s a winter sport that I haven’t developed an appreciation
for, but if that’s what kicks off the Christmas season for you, then so be
it.
The Christmas season
starts for me when I put in that first CD, and that doesn’t happen until the
first Sunday of Advent, after Thanksgiving. Advent literally means
“anticipation,” and that’s what Christmas is all about.
Decorating with the
warm glow of lights and candles prepares my home for the holiday season, but it
is Christmas music that prepares my heart.
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