Is it just me… or does it seem like a lot more people have their holiday decorations up already this year. My neighbor put her tree up this weekend. I was thinking about bringing my (fake) tree in from the garage so that I can set it up sometime next weekend.

With the changes in my living room this year, I’m not sure where I’m going to set the tree up. Maybe in front of the slider — because when it snows, there’s no way I’ll be using it anyway — or maybe I’ll move the coffee table and put the tree in the corner by the television. Hmmm….

But I digress…

Maybe this early holiday set up is a phenomenon that’s just in this area… but I don’t think so. I’ve been hearing about others in various states being glad that they can hear Christmas music… or that they too have seen decorations popping up in their neighbor’s yards or houses.

I’m guessing that because the stores have all their displays up and various radio stations are playing Christmas music 24/7… that this may have gotten some people in the mood for the holiday already.

But why rush things so much? So many people complain about how life moves too quickly — how we rush things along… but by making Christmas appear so soon, aren’t we missing out on the everyday life that is November? Or is it better to start the Christmas traditions this early so that we are finally ready when the holiday comes upon us… because we all know it will be here in the blink of an eye.

Now I don’t have the spouse/family thing going on (as you know)… but I would hope that when the time comes for this, that my family could enjoy the fall events that are around us before the snow comes and don’t rush into the Christmas holiday anticipation so that it loses all of it’s wonder when the actual holiday arrives.

I’m really afraid that the more we lose the anticipation of the Christmas holiday — the more it becomes just like another day. When I was growing up, one of my favorite things about the holidays — really any holiday — was that the stores and restaurants were all closed. I loved the big streets with little traffic, loved the peacefulness of the parking lots, loved the silence of it all.

Maybe that’s really what this all comes down to. We (myself included) are all in such a rush of life that we don’t get to stop and reflect on the things we cherised as a child.

And maybe that’s why the holiday music and decorations go up earlier and earlier each year… because we are trying to capture this “wonder” for just a moment again.

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