Christmas Before Thanksgiving?

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Tomorrow will be our U.S. Thanksgiving Day. My Canadian family and friends celebrated their Thanksgiving Day back in October. For them, it makes Thanksgiving Day a couple of months before Christmas. I like that pause before Christmas activities. Whether October or November, it's been beginning to look a lot like Christmas for MONTHS now. My nephew, Mark David Lawrence, starts pining for Christmas and singing Christmas carols in July. I've seen some FB posts where folks were grumbling about Christmas decorations being sold since August. Christmas music is already being played in stores. I get that retail stores, needing their sales, amp it up to get us into the "buying" spirit waaay before the Christmas season.

I get that most of us want to embrace each season and make it as memorable as we can. We want to savor Fall with the leaves changing colors, candy corn, pumpkin spice coffee, autumn décor, and we want to remember the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving and make this season special. But, I started thinking -- "What's the big deal?" And why should it matter when people begin to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas? Different strokes for different folks. Bottom line is that we open our hearts, and our homes, to being thankful at Thanksgiving and to the joys, delights, thrills and celebrations of CHRISTMAS – Christ and His coming to this earth. Thanksgiving AND Christmas are seasons that could be celebrated all year long.

My daughter and family already have their Christmas tree and decorations up and I'll admit, I love the gentle, sweet and tender atmosphere that the Christmas décor creates. I'll put mine out soon after Thanksgiving, but I’m already embracing Christmas as Mom, on my recent trip to Tulsa, gave me her beloved Christmas tree and manger scene ceramic characters that she painted years ago. I'll display them adoringly. So I'll be pondering and thinking about all that Christmas means when my Austin and Frisco family are here celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow. We'll all be in such a mode of thanksgiving, it will make an easy transition for all the joys and beauty of Christmas.

I haven't complained about the Christmas decorations and music in the stores. It has just caused me to hone into the beautiful journey that will lead to the most HOLY AND MIRACULOUS DAY – and, it would have been alright if I started way back in July, with my nephew! After all, it’s more than a season or a day, it’s about a REASON for unspeakable joy, indescribable love, and amazing sacrifice – that the ONE who placed the stars in the sky and Who knows them ALL by name -- chose to come to this earth as a little baby to be with me, understand me, live in this world like me -- HE totally gets me and my frailties, but better yet, He is my all powerful, awesome and GREAT, amazing God. I'd say that's plenty reason to be celebrating ALL YEAR ROUND! So the next time you're tempted to complain about "too early", turn that around to being THANKFUL for the reminder to THANK God year 'round for THE REASON FOR ALL THE SEASONS.