A Little Christmas

If you are anything like me, you may have bristled at the title of the blog post as we are still 57 days or so away from Christmas. It's not even Halloween, you may be thinking to yourself. And, generally, I agree. That Friday after Thanksgiving, that is the time to start thinking about Christmas.

It might be easier for me, having been raised in a Jewish household. Christmas was not a big deal, other than being a day off. My family's traditions did not involve empty movie theaters or dining in Chinese restaurants; just trips to my grandparents, which was a frequent day-off activity anyway.

For years now, I do seem to have my own 'Christmas in July' when the oft repeated carols of the holiday season somehow reactivate in my mind, plaguing me for awhile. Christmas in July is a thing, with a quick Google search letting me know it is associated with southern hemisphere celebrations since Christmas is normally in their summer and so lacks some of the traditional tropes. Living in Seattle, I've experienced more non-white Christmases (something growing up in Minnesota I didn't even realize was possible) than not.

But the past few weeks, I've been feeling the call of the Christmas spirit. This afternoon at work I had, "All I Want for Christmas is You" stuck in my head and seriously considered coming home and watching "Love, Actually" (although my favorite Christmas movie is "Scrooged", which I own on VHS). The other weekend, I watched a bunch of Christmas episodes of shows I like on Netflix. I find it fascinating that this spirit can find its way into the grizzliest of police procedurals, the most serious quests, the wackiest of sit coms, all with equal magic.

I've known for a long time now that I do love Christmas episodes, but now I am admitting it to the world. I appreciate any episode that anchors itself in my time frame--Halloween spooky, Thanksgiving awkwardness, New Years promise, Valentine's sweetness, St. Patrick's Day indulgence, But that magical spirit we all want to imbue Christmas with...there is a special raw hope to it. Maybe it comes from something primal, a reaction to the days having grown ever shorter for six months, and then, just after the Winter Solstice, they begin to lengthen again. The fear of the dark, the joy in the recognition that there will be another spring, another summer as the light grows longer. It is a natural cycle that we need not pay as much attention to in this day and age, but still we do. We carry on these traditions, including Hanukkah, the festival of lights, because we humans have needed each other most at the darkest times of the year so we come together to eat, drink, and be merry. To sing songs to each other of hope and salvation, of family and friends, of joy and celebration.

It may be the darkness is already getting to me. It may be that I know Christmas is when it all turns around. Or it may be something else all together. But, until the actual Christmas episodes start showing up some 30+ days from now, I may need a little more Christmas to get me through.