45 days

It feels as if summer just barely ended.  Oh wait, it did!  So why in the heck is everyone getting all revved up about Christmas?  I don't even want to count how many holiday commercials I've seen, how many lists I've been asked for, or how many conversations I've had with people talking about what they're doing for the holidays.  Because I'd then have to ask...

What in the HELL are we doing?!?!

I know it's not the real date, but Christmas for me is about the birth of Christ.  Not Santa.  Not gifts.  Not wine. (Okay, maybe a little wine)  Not stuff.  But Jesus.  And Christmas begins on December 1st with that little-known thing called Advent.  It does not begin in September or October.  And it doesn't even begin in November.  Advent begins on December 1st.  And the whole shebang ends on January 8th with that little-recognized thing, these days, called 3 Kings Day.

And that's something we're working really, really hard on instilling in our child in spite of the Toys R Us and Lego and umpteen other catalogs arriving in our mailbox daily.  In fact, a lot of it is BECAUSE of all those things that we're so focused on trying to make this actually mean something beyond a shameless boosting of the Chinese economy.  And every time someone asks him what Santa is going to bring him, or what he wants for Christmas, or if he's made out his Christmas list yet, when we are still months out from the holiday, it completely undermines all that is good we're trying to teach about Christmas.

Maybe you see it differently.  Maybe Christmas to you is about mistletoe and presents from Santa and eating too much.  That's totally fine for you.  But it's not for us.  So it exhausts me to hear "I have to hit the sales" or "I want to spread out the spending" or the worst of all, "I just want to get it out of the way".  Because, and I say this quite honestly... If spending on or shopping for me is a burden on you, for the love of everything - quit buying me stuff.

Because to me, Christmas is supposed to be about peace and love and joy.  It's about getting together as we do so incredibly rarely as family and friends, to celebrate all that and rejoice in the miracles around us with good thoughts in our heads and happiness in our hearts.  It isn't supposed to be about stuff and one-upping the person next to you with a gift.  It isn't supposed to be about crazy-making around you to get your list done in order to be able to sit back and triumphantly proclaim "I'm already done with my shopping!"  If that's your goal, that's great for you.  Just don't look for me to provide you with a detailed list of what I want months ahead of time.  Because I've decided my standard answer to that from here on out is going to be "A happy holiday."