Let Christmas Begin: Bringing the Joy of the Holidays Early this Year

It’s that time of year again, so let’s ask the question on everyone’s mind: Are you pro-Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving or against?

Previously, I’ve been staunchly opposed to Christmas decorations going up before Thanksgiving. That’s the way we always did it at home growing up. Nothing Christmas would grace the mantel over the fireplace or sit smugly on the coffee table until that sumptuous feast of thanks was ended.

What I didn’t realize until after our wedding is Ryan is a Christmas fanatic. If left up to him, he’d probably keep the decorations up and A Christmas Story playing year-round.

He doesn’t care about the two holidays before the birth of Christ. All he wants for Christmas is not two front teeth, but Christmas all January to December.

My argument against the tradition of Christmas décor up at the end of September has always gone a little like this, “There are two whole, separate holidays that never get their fair share because of the Christmas craze.”

When we sit down at the Thanksgiving table, many of us are thinking about what to get the others surrounding our food for Christmas, hopefully on sale on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Shop Local Saturday, or any other alliterations you prefer.

When we don our costumes and candy bags, all some people can think about is the unholiness of the night or how are we going to lose this candy weight, plus the Thanksgiving weight before Christmas?

“It’s just not right to put up your decorations before Thanksgiving!”

This has always been my position, until 2020 happened.

The wildfires, the social and political and racial unrest, the pandemic and loss of life, the election that seems to drag on forever, becoming a new mom during quarantine, living 10 hours away from family.

All of this, plus whatever else is happening in your life, is just the excuse some of us need to let loose on the holiday rules this year.

So, if you needed permission from someone else to hold those rules we cling to as tightly as our Bibles a little looser, a little lighter, here it is.

If putting up your Christmas tree will bring you and yours a little more joy this year, put it up!

If setting up your outside lights and other decorations (yes, this includes any blow-up Santas and reindeer and Christmas trees) will give your heart a little more peace, blow them up!

If making that caramel popcorn you only make once a year will lift the burden of this year off your soul, by all means make some (and bring some my direction)!

There’s never been a year where more people are alone when they should be surrounded by family and friends.
There’s never been a year where we’re more connected to our phones and digital devices than we are to the people around us.
There’s never been a year more fraught with challenges, both personally and collectively.

I have no deep lesson here today, no words of wisdom, only this: We don’t need more excuses to tuck the joy away for its proper time and place on the calendar. We need someone to tell us it’s okay to need the joy of Christmas a little early this year, and today, I’ll be that person for you.

Let Christmas begin.