I am republishing this blog from last year. It reminds me to enjoy the Holy Day Season before it slips away.

A Hallmark display at a local store caught my eye. The sign above the holiday greeting cards declared, “Christmas is December 25^th.” Huh. Good to know!

Many bemoan how the holidays arrive earlier each year. Retailers anxious for Christmas sales begin Black Friday sales on July 4^th. Costco erected a winter wonderland of snowmen and penguins in September. XM Radio premiered their holiday stations on November 1.

And Hobby Lobby . . . well, the home goods store celebrates three seasons: Last Christmas, This Christmas, and Next Christmas.

I’ve always resisted the Hallowthankmas holiday madness, choosing to observe the day after Thanksgiving as my personal advent of the holidays. However, I’ve experienced a Dicken’s-like change of heart.

December days rush by so quickly with over-committed calendars and hectic schedules. December 26^th always dawns with an awareness that I never accomplished everything hoped for or planned during the holiday rush.

Therefore, this year I’m celebrating an early Christmas.

I’m decking the halls, listening to Christmas music, and singing “The Twelve,” well, I draw the line at singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Seven Nativity Scenes adorn my office. A candle ornament plugged into an outlet bubbles merrily away. I’ve been sipping egg nog since mid-November. If I had some chestnuts, they would be roasting on an open fire. 

Oh, I fight the occasional urge to say, “Bah, humbug.” I’m a recovering Scrooge with occasional lapses. However, life’s too short to miss the advent of the Holy Day Season.

Christmas is December 25^th this year. But why wait? Start celebrating an early Christmas today!