If You Get Big Mad About Christmas In November, You Can STFU

As soon as the calendar flips to November, I start listening to Christmas music.

I begin with the classic Christmas hits. The Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, and Burl Ives because it reminds me of my grandmother, who raised me. She had this old massive wooden record player in the hallway, and each Christmas, she’d dust it, and slide in those same classics in vinyl, and then hum along as she mixed up a batch English toffee. Once I get sick of the classics, usually around Thanksgiving, I’ll move onto Mariah Carey and Kenny G. With streaming music, I really cannot run out of Christmas albums. Last year I discovered that Bad Religion even had one. (I recommend it.)

My coworkers, wife, and anyone who rides in my car will bitch about me listening to Christmas music in November, and you know what? I don’t care, because I love it.

As soon as the calendar flips to November, I start listening to Christmas music.

I love Christmas. I love lingering in the Christmas section, jingling the bells and smelling the pine. I live in Oregon, and I love going to a Christmas tree farm and cutting down my own tree. I love visiting those drive-thru parks decorated with strings of lights that flash to Christmas music, and I adore Christmas movies. Until a few years ago, I would shamelessly watch Elf or A Christmas Story in the middle of July just to get my holiday fix. I only stopped doing this because my children own the TV now, and I cannot seem to get anything I want on the screen. Although I’ll tell you right now, the moment they move out, those shows will once again be making a summer appearance. I assure you.

I get a lot of crap for beginning Christmas early, and honestly, I don’t understand it. People will freely tell me to turn off the Christmas hits. My wife rolls her eyes when I get all excited about Christmas stuff hitting store shelves in October, or when I come home with peppermint ice cream the moment it goes on sale. I once suggested that we spend our anniversary at one of those year-round Christmas themed hotels, and I swear she was about to take my temperature.

Lately, it seems to be socially acceptable to shame those of us that want to perpetually live in a winter wonderland, and for what? Are we really all that odd because we love the magic of Christmas? Just now, when I scrolled through social media, the first thing I saw was someone posting a picture of a holiday section in some store, giving out a PSA that it’s too early and they need to stop.

Listen, don’t be a thief of joy. In fact, according to experts, people who celebrate Christmas earlier are happier. It’s not hurting anyone. No one was ever been harmed by Santa, and I’m not a fan of the Krampus, so we don’t bring that little demon into the home. I will admit that I hold off on bringing out the Elf on the Shelf, but that’s mostly because I keep forgetting to move the little bugger. Other than that, is it ever too early to build a gingerbread house? Let us Christmas-loving folks have our simple pleasures.

Christmas only happens once a year. It is the best time of the year for a reason, and beginning a little, or a lot, early isn’t a bad thing. Sure, it’s commercial. Yes, Christmas can be costly, but it’s also the season of giving. It’s a time when people smile and nod to each other, and kiss under the mistletoe. I, for one, wish we could be that way year around. If we had 365 days of Christmas, I wouldn’t complain. And I doubt you would, either.

Christmas is the best time of the year for a reason, and beginning a little, or a lot, early isn’t a bad thing.

So when your coworker starts cranking up the Christmas tunes, don’t be a dick about it. Sing along. When your spouse wants to wander along the Christmas section the moment it goes up, just feel the glow. Don’t comment. When your neighbor puts up their winter wonderland as they are taking out the jack-o-lanterns, just smile and wave. And when your mother puts up the tree as if Thanksgiving weren’t anything more than a pit stop, don’t get worked up. Don’t bitch. Just lend a hand.

Christmas is the best holiday ever. It is filled with warmth and love and good tidings. Take a breath, and accept it. Don’t fight it. Don’t drag others down. Don’t be a thief of joy. Roll with it. You might just find that you are not only happier because you stopped being a jerk to the early Christmas loving folks around you, but you also might just find yourself wrapped up in the joy of Christmas a even longer this year. And frankly, that is a feeling we could all enjoy a little longer, don’t you think?