Festiveness
That moment this year when the holiday feeling first hit me.
I felt festive this morning.
It started as just a flash, while I reached for the Corn Flakes—a moment of thoughts about friends, family, food, and fun mingled with that Thanksgiving Dinner/Christmas morning joy.
As I pondered telling my wife about it, it came again—and lasted longer.
Now, just now, I saw snow. We experienced no snowfall last night here, and I haven’t even looked outside. However, I saw snow just now, as I sit in my easy chair, with my feet up, with my Chromebook in my lap as I type these words.
A song is echoing in my mind. It started when I typed the subtitle of this post, “That moment this year when the holiday feeling first hit me.” The words “holiday feeling” started the song ringing in my brain…“Happy Holiday” by Andy Williams.
It’s the holiday season (the holiday season),
So Whoop-de-do and Hickory dock!
And don’t forget to hang up your sock;
‘Cause just exactly at 12 o’clock;
He’ll be coming down the chimney, down!”
I love Christmas music, but not that song. It focuses more on Santa Claus and rings like a lounge singer performance. Pandora plays it over and over on its various Christmas-themed stations, and I can only stand it once or twice before I start skipping it.
But there it is, playing over and over again in my brain, and the infection is contagious. I posted the YouTube link above just for reference, but don’t watch it. Don’t go there, or it’ll infect you too.
Really, just scroll right on past.
It’s not on any of my Christmas music playlists that I’ve accumulated on YouTube over the years either…Christmas Children Singing, Christmas Concerts, Christmas Favorites, Christmas Flash Mobs, Christmas Instrumentals, Christmas Messages, Christmas Movies, Christmas Music Long Runs, Christmas Music Videos, Christmas Music with Slide Shows, Christmas Religion Christian, or Christmas Singalong.
https://www.youtube.com/@whousley/search?query=christmas
Well, it might have snuck into one or two of them.
I know what you’re thinking, and no, I don’t have a problem. I don’t need intervention. I have it under control. I don’t (typically) start playing the Christmas music until Thanksgiving morning. Of course, since the holiday season only lasts a little over a month, I play nothing but Christmas music that entire time, but I promptly and abruptly stop playing it sometime during New Year’s Day.
The Christmas Holiday spirit should take its turn behind the similar yet different Thanksgiving Holiday celebrated here in the U.S., which, in turn, should follow Halloween. It annoys me when the three get mixed together in stores. Which is why seeing Christmas stuff in Walmart yesterday while shopping for pumpkins to carve didn’t trigger the festiveness that I felt this morning.
Of course, I made an apple pie earlier in October, just for practice. I know how to cook pies, turkey, stuffing, and all that Thanksgiving dinner stuff. I like sitting and watching football too, but I get into the cooking more.
My son will be home from college for Thanksgiving, and I’ve been asking my wife who we’re having Thanksgiving Dinner with. It’s a lot of work (and food) for just three people, and she and I both prefer to enjoy it in a larger family gathering anyway. We celebrated with my side of the family last year, and we’ve always alternated from year to year. However, circumstances have gotten in the way of celebrating with her side this year. I talked my sister into us roasting the turkey last year instead of her husband, not because I don’t like Shad’s cooking—I do like his cooking, he’s excellent—but I wanted to cook the turkey.
I want to cook it again this year, too. I own not one but TWO electric turkey ovens.
No, stop it! I don’t have a problem, and I don’t need intervention. I just need to cook a turkey—or two—now and then, but I can cook pies instead, or rolls, or yams, or any of that other holiday-dinner stuff, and still be happy. Besides, it’s not like I cook turkeys all the time…just, whenever I have one to cook.
Halloween was yesterday. This morning, we turned those two jack-o-lanterns around to become Thanksgiving/fall festival decorations.
It’s time for the real festiveness to begin.
Now, where’s that turkey? Let’s get cooking!
November 3rd Update: I looked up and read through the song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” in my church hymnal yesterday. To be fair, I consider that to be more a song about Christ’s second coming than his first. So, technically, I can pretend like it’s not REALLY a Christmas song…at least until after Thanksgiving. Right? ;-)