A Spotlight on the Holidays

When September arrives and the leaves start to turn, the kiddos return to school and best of all the holiday season begins. I like to take my holidays one at a time. I will avoid stores that start playing Christmas music in September. Granted the retailers have to maximize sales. At the same time, we all know that Christmas is December 25 every year. Do we really need to hear “Jingle Bells”  in September to know Christmas is coming?

When October 1 arrives, I enjoy seeing the Halloween decorations start to show up. The children are excited about picking out their Halloween costumes and deciding who to go with for trick or treating. I personally enjoy candy corn and all of the  Halloween candies especially if they are chocolate. I like the cute Halloween costumes like the dinosaurs, Raggedy Anns, and the Disney characters. I’m not as fond of the blood and gore costumes but I understand that they are part of the holiday. Decorating for Halloween seems to be more popular each year. I decorate with Jack-O-Lanterns and spiders, black cats and witches, pumpkin lights in orange and gold, and a little goblin dressed in orange carrying a sign saying “Trick or Treat”. Once the last trick-or-treater leaves my front porch, it’s time to put away Halloween and bring out Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving is a special time for me  to reflect on all that I am thankful for. I also remind myself to take time each day to express my gratitude for all of my blessings. I appreciate having a holiday without presents or chaos caused by not knowing what to give to everyone. It is a holiday made for spending time with family and sharing a delicious meal. We get together with as many of our family members that can attend and catch up on the latest news. Each family brings a dish or other addition to the meal. My niece and her husband, Lisa and Craig host Thanksgiving each year. They decorate with Candles and leaves and gold accents that make the holiday come alive. Art says the blessing, as is his tradition, and we enjoy our meal of turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, Jell-o vegetable salad with mayonnaise, rutabaga (Lisa’s favorite) and relishes, rolls and pumpkin and apple pie topped with whipped cream for dessert. Whew! I feel full just thinking about it. 

Then comes the granddaddy of all holidays, Christmas. I can’t imagine mixing up these holidays. They each have their own special meaning and unique celebrations. We start right after Thanksgiving to begin the process of preparing for Christmas. I love the decorations of lights and greenery and all of the ornaments too numerous to list. The special Nativity scenes presented in our homes remind us to remember the reason for the season. During December we get together to decorate gingerbread houses, to try our hand at painting Christmas themed paintings and to decorate Christmas cookies. The rules originated by Great Grandma Is create groans and discipline from the cookie decorators. No eating cookies until they are presented at our Christmas celebrations. And if you lick your fingers during decorating, go wash your hands.

My sister, Sandy and her husband Art, host us for a Christmas gift opening and Christmas dinner. It does get a bit chaotic with gift wrap and bows and all of us opening gifts at the same time. After gifts, we come together for another delicious meal. Sandy has made her special chicken recipe for some years. She has also made prime rib and other beef dishes. Does it sound like we are a spoiled family? You bet and we love it. 

Mix up the holidays? They each have their own special festivities and traditions that deserve their own spotlight. So, I’ll continue to tune out the Christmas displays in September and honor my tradition. I like my holidays one at a time please. I can’t imagine enjoying them any other way. 

Since Thanksgiving is over for another year, I’ll take this opportunity to say:

                                           Have a very Merry Christmas, Everyone!

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