It is hard to believe that December is already here. It is time to get decorating for Christmas and asking Alexa to play Christmas songs. Or is it? Maybe I am too late. The stores have had their Christmas decorations up and Christmas carols playing for several weeks now. Actually, right after Halloween. I suppose because Halloween and Christmas are the money-making holidays and Thanksgiving is not. The IG content creators tell me that many of the items they were going to share are already sold out. People have sunk into Christmas in October and simply bypassed autumn and Thanksgiving.
We had an interesting conversation at the Thanksgiving table this year. People debated the merits of putting up your tree before or after Thanksgiving. Christmas is probably the biggest, most favored holiday of the year and several people wanted to enjoy the twinkle lights for as long as possible. Others felt like fall and Thanksgiving deserved to be celebrated fully first.
The lovely couple we visited with across the table from us, were on two different sides of the fence. She was ready to put the tree up weeks ago, and he was in the camp that wants to wait until after Thanksgiving. It was a fun conversation, and I am happy to say that no one whipped out their phone to determine the majority of people’s answer to this question.
Which side of the fence are you?
Personally, I am on the side of the fence that believes in waiting until after Thanksgiving. This started out of necessity many years ago when all of the kids were at home. We usually had the three days after Thanksgiving off from work and school, so it was the perfect time to pull out the Christmas boxes and get started. Besides, I love autumn and Thanksgiving and do not want to rush past them. But there is something special about the generosity and spirit of Christmas that pulls me. So, the day after Thanksgiving, watch out! I will be hauling out boxes, lighting candles and singing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…”
Our little city kicks off the Christmas season with an annual parade, fireworks and a tree lighting ceremony. I am glad they wait until the Friday after Thanksgiving to do this. It is a great way to commence the season. We were fortunate to be invited to our DIL’s mother’s condo to have snacks, sip hot cider and observe the festivities from a bird’s eye view.
So, which side of the fence are you on? And since our Canadian neighbors celebrate Thanksgiving in October, how do they decide when to put up their Christmas decorations? It is Monday, December 1st as I write this post and all of my Christmas decorations were put up over the weekend. l am retired now but old habits are hard to break. Besides I like the tradition of putting up the Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. We don’t have the Christmas tree up yet though. We still need to decide whether we are going real or fake this year. Of course that is a whole other debate for another day.
I hope you enjoy the festivities of preparing for this season of warmth and goodwill, whichever side of the fence you are on.
Cheers to the retirement years!
