Christmas is certainly in the air, and has been for quite some time.  Right after all the Halloween candies, costumes, and festivities, homes transform from white paper ghosts to decorative wreaths of red and green.  It’s almost as if Thanksgiving gets bypassed.   The only indicators may be a commercial here or there, or maybe a few aisles in the store decorated with fall leaves and Thanksgiving food items.  While I understand the marketing concept for the early reminders, sometimes I wonder if these things dampen the true meaning of these holidays.

For me, it does not.  Sometimes it helps to enhance.  The two times in the year that I really love are springtime and Christmas.  When it comes to  spring, I love the newness of life.  Birds chirping, beautiful blossoms of white, pink, and yellow, green lush lawns, and skies of pastel blue.  As for Christmas, I love this season because of the birth of Christ and all He represents, the colorful light displays in the residential areas, the smell of holiday cookies, and just the feeling of good cheer.

Even in this moment, my mind’s eye see’s colors of red, white, and Christmas blue adorning homes everywhere.    Be it ornaments, candies, or wrapping paper,  it spells Christmas.   My nose picks up on the scents of cocoa and peppermint, and a slight chill in the air gives hope of coming snow.  And of course we can’t forget about songs like “This Christmas” by Donnie Hathaway or “That’s What Christmas Means to Me” by Stevie Wonder that help to set the holiday mood.  All these things kinda remind me of Target commercials. 🙂

I remember one Christmas as a child where it snowed so much everything was covered top to bottom.  My brother and I went outdoors to make snowmen, but instead I ended up being hit with a ton of snowballs.  We’d grab the sled and ride down the decline by our house.  Then walk back up the hill only to do it again and again.   Before frostbite could claim us, we’d go in where my mom would complain about tracking snow in the house.  We’d take our hats, coats, and gloves off to hurry to the furnace.  This is where our warmth would begin.  Afterwards, I’d drink cocoa to heat up my insides, but somehow, my nose didn’t get the memo.  That seemed to be the last part of my body to get warm.

Another memory that brings smiles to my face is the first Christmas after my husband and I married.  We decided to take a mini road trip to a well-known area outside of Atlanta.  There were several subdivisions with lights galore.  Some were adorned with white lights, blue lights, or even multi-colored ones.  Others had nativity scenes, blow-up figures, musical displays, or creative adaptations of Christmas cartoons like the Abominable Snowman and Charlie Brown.  Something inside of me felt like a kid again.  Then we went back to our hotel to open gifts and the funniest thing happened.

My husband loves automobiles.  One of his presents was a remote-controlled luxury truck.  He started playing with it in our room, but it kept bumping into things.  So, we moved to the hallway.  Being the only guests on our floor and possibly the entire hotel, nobody would be bothered, right?   Hubby drove the truck straight, then right, then left, and then BAM…..into the door of another room.  We heard a woman say “Honey, I think someone’s at the door”.   My husband, grabbed the truck and we hauled tail back to our room before they had a chance to open their door.  That was the fastest either of us ran since elementary school.  We laughed so hard tears fell from our eyes.  Luckily no one knew it was us.

All in all,  Christmas yields many glorious memories.  These are just two that came to mind that I wanted to share.  When you think about the Christmas holiday season, what memories does it spark?

Photo: TinselandTrinkets

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