Am I the only one who’s annoyed that the celebration of Christmas keeps getting earlier and earlier? Last week Beth informed me that one of the TV channels was going to broadcast a Christmas movie every day. Right up to Christmas. That’s like 50 days! I didn’t even know there were that many Christmas movies to show. Whatever happened to the Christmas season beginning the day after Thanksgiving? Yeah, you know. Get one holiday out of the way before we move on to the next one. It only seems right, doesn’t it? I mean if I were Thanksgiving I would really be upset. 'What am I, chopped liver?' (How about cooked turkey!) Pretty soon the Christmas season is going to start before Halloween. I can just see it now. Children trick-or-treating as Santa, Rudolph, Frosty or one of the Elves. Some things just aren’t right.The question is, Why is the Christmas season starting earlier and earlier? I believe there are several reasons. One is the mood of people these days. Things are tough. A number of people are unemployed. Some have lost their homes to foreclosure. Money is tight. Many are barely squeaking by. When things are this bad, you need some cheering up. Ho, Ho, Ho! Lights. Decorations. Christmas Carols. Romanticized Christmas movies about family. Love. Peace.
Then there’s the fact that the sluggish economy is also hitting retailers. Hard. People are just not spending money like they were a couple years ago. Many retailers are feeling the pinch. Lower sales. Less profit. Lay offs. Store closings. When you stop and think that the Christmas season is what puts them in the black, why not extend the season? Take in a little bit more money. Put something on the bottom line.
The problem is that extending the Christmas season can end up killing it. Or seriously wounding it. It can lead to what I call ‘Christmas fatigue’. How many days can a person listen to Christmas Carols before they want to listen to something else? Anything else. (I’ve probably just committed Christmas blasphemy!) How many Christmas movies can you watch before the story line gets old? How early can you buy Christmas gifts without forgetting what you purchased? The point is that at some point extending the season can diminish its specialness.
Take a child, for example, who wishes that every day was their birthday. This is the dream of every kid, isn’t it? A present every day. A cake every day. People singing to you every day. Being the center of attention every day. But at what point would their birthday go from being special to ordinary? I don’t know. But at some point it would. Trust me.
But there is one aspect of the Christmas season that I would like to see extended. It’s the spirit of Christmas. I never could understand why people have to wait until the Christmas season to be nice to others. And kind. And loving. It’s like someone automatically turns on this switch, ‘Oh, it’s the Christmas season! I should think of somebody else for a change instead of myself!’ Really? Shouldn’t you be thinking of others all year long? Shouldn’t the plight of the poor, the needy, the oppressed be your concern the other 11 months? Yes, it should. As Christians, the spirit of Christmas means that we should have the Christmas spirit all year long. All year long we should be loving. And kind. And generous.
I seriously doubt that the Christmas season is going to go back to officially beginning after Thanksgiving anytime soon. If anything, it will go the other way. Christmas in September anyone? There really isn’t much I can do about that. But what I can do is to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in my heart all year long. It’s what Jesus wants. For me to be filled with love. Joy. Peace. Hope. The spirit of giving. And to share these with others.
Lord, I thank you that, as a Christian, it can be Christmas in my heart all year long. I don’t need a ‘season’ to make it come alive. Every day I can experience the wonderfulness of it. And share it with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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