Every year at this time, we all start griping about the rushing of the Christmas holiday. 

Take a look at Facebook and you’ll see at least a few houses completely decorated for Christmas already and if you take a drive through town, you’ll see colored lights already.

To each his own. It’s none of my business.  I will not judge.

In defense of the guy who already put up his Christmas lights, I get it.  Christmas lights are a pain in the butt to put up if it’s cold and there have been plenty of years that I thanked the Lord above for some of those unseasonably warm Novembers to put up lights.

Still, I’ve put them up in chilling winds and winter temps. It ain’t fun. So, I get wanting to put the stuff up early

I also, to an extent, understand the desire to get your house all decked out for the holidays. Many of us experience a bit of depression when the time change rolls around.  It gets dark earlier.  The skies start to be a little grayer than they were before.  Stringing lights inside and lighting up some dark corners seems appealing.

Many people absolutely live for Christmas. The whole shebang is exciting to them, from the planning and the rushing around to the ripping open of the gifts.  

It takes about five minutes to finish up what takes some people two months or more to prepare for.

I don’t think any amount of griping or complaining will do a doggone thing about the forgotten holiday of Thanksgiving. Every year, we talk about the Christmas holiday ramping up before the candle wax in the jack-o-lantern has time to dry. Commercials for Christmas stuff start even before Halloween. I saw a cute Reese’s commercial followed by a Hallmark commercial and was completely appalled. 

But as I said, our constant bellyaching is not going to change anything.  Christmas is going to start coming earlier and earlier.  

I do feel sorry for Thanksgiving. There are some good stories there.  A tradition and saga of a group of people who endured hardship. It’s a story of an actual good relationship between two diverse people groups, even though it didn’t last. We are supposed to be pausing every day to give thanks, yet for those of us who don’t do it enough, this is the one day where we can really focus on what we are thankful for.

Another reason I think people love Christmas so much is because they have a great desire to recapture something. Let’s face it: many of our happiest memories (I hope) center around the Christmas holiday, and many of us strive to get some of that back.  One day a year where everyone loves, remembers, and cares. One day a year where peace and harmony abound and we are possibly at our happiest. That  feeling at Christmas time, that of happiness and contentment. It’s no wonder some folks want it to start sooner and last longer. I get it.

I also get to where I long for a simple holiday. How about you? One where just a few gifts are exchanged.  A Christmas where we focus on getting together and eating. Time to just sit and have a second cup of coffee or a good phone call with someone.  

I love the lights and the splendor of Christmas, and I certainly want to experience the peace, love and comfort. And I also want it to last a while. 

But I’m wondering if rushing the holiday is the way to do it.