A Rambling Love of December

        Well loyal readers, I hope I haven’t lost too many of you. I have neglected you guys yet again. I really don’t do it on purpose, I swear. And this time I am not here to tell you about themes, though those posts are coming soon. I am here to write a post similar to a previous one. I am here to tell you how excited I am about the new month. While October is my favorite month, and autumn is my favorite holiday, I still have a great love for December. Yes, it is for the glaringly obvious reasons. I am a fan of Halloween, but I love Christmas. And yes, I absolutely love autumn but I am also a fan of winter. I can honestly say that it drove me nuts to see Christmas stuff being displayed as early as November 1^st. I am a big lover of all things Christmas but it has become a joke. No, I am not going to sit here and spout things like Jesus is the reason for the season. I am aware of the nativity story, and like every good Protestant I do know the Christmas story. However, I am also one who loves Christmas for the commercial reasons. I love the presents, Santa, the decorations, the music, and so on. But even I think that things have gotten a little ridiculous. In an attempt to make more money, Christmas began being advertised for at the beginning of November. Black Friday sales began at 9 pm on the night of Thanksgiving. In case you didn’t know, when Black Friday started, stores opened at 6 am with deals for early morning shoppers. It has been continually pushed back every year until it finally hit midnight, and this year, 9 pm. Then, there is cyber Monday. One shopping day is not enough, but we now need a second special day that emphasizes the importance of gifts at Christmas. When I was a kid, trees and decorations were not put up until at least the second week of December. Older generations put the tree up on Christmas Eve. Now, people had their trees up before Thanksgiving. I cannot say much because I do officially have a tree up. However, I at least waited until December 1^st to do it. There were people on street corners in NYC selling trees on the day after Thanksgiving. It is nuts! But this post is not meant to be a rant. Instead, since it is finally December, I am here to talk about how excited I am about the month. Yes, it mostly because of Christmas. I do have a real tree that is decorated. My apartment now smells like Christmas, and it is awesome. I must explain that I have a real tree for a couple reasons. While it is a tad expensive to have a real tree in the city, it was the only way for us to get one. We do not have the storage space for a fake tree. I, however, am in no way upset by this fact because I actually hate fake trees. I can concede their efficiency and merit, but there is nothing like a real Christmas tree. I must also explain that I am extremely excited about having a tree because I haven’t had one in about five years. And I have never had one of my very own. We always had one as a kid, but I have been on my own for a few years now and it is the first time I have had the space and the money to get a tree. So this tree is special for a few reasons. This year will also be my first Christmas ever away from my family. I have always gone back to my home town for Christmas, but this year that just isn’t possible. While my boyfriend and I will visit with our families around the holidays, we will actually be in our apartment for the days themselves. I am rather excited for this as well. Christmas is not only a tree though. There is Santa Claus, Christmas movies, Christmas music, and cookies. It has always been a tradition in my family to make cookies every year. Although this is a practice that has somewhat lapsed, I thoroughly enjoy baking and intend to start it up again. I made some last year that went over so well, and I can’t wait to do it again. There are so many kinds of cookies in the world, and I generally make way too many. But it is always so much fun, and there are always people that will eat them, so it can’t be a bad thing. Another part of Christmas that will be relatively new for me this year is presents. Don’t misunderstand me; I am no stranger to presents at Christmas. But this year is the first in many that I can remotely afford to give them. They won’t be much, but I love giving people gifts. In an attempt to step away from the commercialism of Christmas, I must point out that I love how the holiday brings people together. It is often difficult to see everybody in the family, but around Christmas time people make the effort to come together. Now I am getting a bit ahead of myself. While Christmas is awesome, December is about more than just Christmas. First of all, there are more holidays. There is Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and the Winter solstice (and I’m sure there are more I am forgetting or don’t even know about). Many cultures have a celebration of some kind this month/time of the year. I am not one that cares about being politically correct, and I think it’s stupid that we have to say Happy Holidays. If I celebrate Christmas, I am going to say Merry Christmas. I will not be offended if somebody wishes me a Happy Chanukah because perhaps that is the holiday they celebrate. I think people are just too sensitive about differences between cultures. Everybody should accept the differences and just be happy at this time of year. December also marks the beginning of winter. The Winter Solstice is a pagan celebration that honors the change in seasons. I personally am merely excited for snow. People are always complaining about snow because it impedes daily activities and is really cold. But have you ever just stopped to watch the snow fall, or gone out to play in the snow as it is still falling? I mean since you were a kid of course. Children have an entirely different view of the world, but sometimes I think they have the best view there is. Snow is beautiful. For children it means no school, snow ball fights, snow men, and more. Next time it snows, I dare you to look at it from a child’s perspective. Don’t think about the morning commute. Don’t think about having to shovel the next day. Just look at how beautiful it is, and enjoy the magic of the weather. Make yourself a nice mug of hot chocolate, turn off all the lights, and just look out the window and watch the flakes fall. There is something about winter and Christmas that, if you stop to actually enjoy it, makes you believe in magic. Maybe only for a second, but that one moment in time is something everybody should treasure. So this December, look past the commercialism of the holidays, stop hating the differences in cultures, and stop stressing over any snow. Take the time to enjoy the magic of the holiday, the season, and the month. I think that is a great way to end the year. Remembering there really is magic in the world.