#RespectTheTurkey or #RespectMyRightToBeHappy?
I hate the dark.
Movies and books and life and all of the things teach us that dark is bad. Bad things happen in the dark. Hope and joy are chased away by the corners of darkness. Light is better than dark.
It stands to reason that I hate Daylight Saving Time. I'm all for sunlight when I'm driving to work, but there's nothing sadder than not seeing your kid and the sun play together for days on end.
But, I found the silver lining. Years ago, I discovered that there is something that can chase away the harshness of the cold, dark winter. The sparkly lights and shiny baubles of Christmas decorations can make the darkness friendlier. They take the edge off and give me something to look forward to each year when I set those clocks back.
It's possible that I try a little bit harder than most to chase away the dark. See also: I have 12 Christmas trees. See also also: I would have the outside of our house more decorated than anything any Griswold could ever imagine, if only the electrical system in our house could handle it.
And if I had my way, I would have started decorating on November 1st.
I KNOW. I KNOW. I KNOW.
Every year I'm ashamed to admit that I want to start decorating as soon as the last trick-or-treaters have vanished into their homes. Every year I start out decorating deep inside the most hidden corners of our house and don't dare let anyone know what is going on. Every year I hang my head low because I KNOW. I know how everyone feels about Christmas decorations in November.
I see the thoughts posted all over social media. RESPECT THE TURKEY, you say.
Some of the comments are ... vicious. Mean. Cruel.
I get it. Sort of. I get that you want to give Thanksgiving the credit it deserves.
But ... just because you need a month set aside just for the purposes of being thankful doesn't mean that I do. If I go a week without telling someone that I appreciate them or that I am thankful they are around or something along those lines, I feel like I've failed. Thanksgiving is a time for being with family for me. Thankful is all of the time.
So. I don't need to decorate for Thanksgiving. I can be thankful without plastic turkeys all around. I don't need pumpkins on my porch to remind me to be thankful. I don't even need vividly covered leaves to keep it all in perspective. I like my Thanksgiving to be adorned with sparkly lights and shiny baubles, thank you very much.
Does that mean I don't respect Thanksgiving or don't respect the turkey?
Nope.
It means I like pretty things that brighten the darkness. I like to those pretty things for more than just a couple of weeks.
I like to cut into the dark with some light of my own for as long as I can.
So, if you don't mind, please excuse me while I decorate my trees and bring light to these nights filled with dark. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I would like to spend this one doing things that make me happy.
I only hope you will choose your one hour doing something that makes you happy instead of telling me that I'm a terrible person for already having a Christmas tree in my dining room.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Reader Comments (12)
Amen.
Though you're preaching to the choir. While I don't decorate until after Thanksgiving (more for boys' bdays than anything else), the Christmas music? Is on. Even that husband of mine was playing Christmas music earlier. We are IN THE SPIRIT OVER HERE.
Yes! Yes! and Yes!
I'm the same way & I'm itching to start my Christmas decorating.
Fuck the turkey - do what you want! I love when my house is decorated for Christmas, and if fall wasn't the busiest time of the year for me, I would decorate sooner. I also leave mine up later than a lot of people, but I don't go judging them when they post about having everything down on January 2nd.
PREACH.
I like to have my decorations up the week before Thanksgiving so they're waiting for us when we get home from traveling. I also bought multiple Christmas-related things at Target today.
And I hate taking my tree down for one of the exact reasons you said--it makes my normally very dark living room so shiny & happy. :)
Decorate whenever you want! This is from the girl whose father decided that the tree should never come down. It's been up since 1996. He just changes the decorations out depending on the month.
There is no reason to give a flying F(ig) what anyone else thinks. Do your own thing.
I'm with you! The husband and I were just discussing setting up the tree on Sunday, but we're having a birthday party for my son on Saturday and just don't want to field all the judgmental comments at the party. So mine are going up this Sunday!!
I love it! We don't decorate for Christmas until after 11/23 because that's a birthday around here and I like the focus to stay on him until then but I don't mind seeing other do it. I do kinda hate that the stores seem to think if you aren't done shopping by now - and buying the Latest! Greatest! Gifts! - you're WAY behind...because I'm not. My shopping day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and that's not going to change so they can just suck it. Happy Holidays! ;)
It makes me sad that you even had to write this post. Why do people care. The fact that you decorate your own house in early November is none of their business. They shouldn't care if you decorate for Christmas in June or on Dec. 24. I very much dislike the Judgey McJudge kind of people!
We had our Thanksgiving turkey a month ago. Go Canada! ;) Can I just saw that as a kid reading about the whole "Christmas decorations go up right after Thanksgiving" thing in books was really confusing? I could not understand why people were putting their Christmas decorations in October.
Love this!!! I am doing mine next weekend!!! I like to enjoy me decorations for more than a month.
This! This is awesome!!! I put my lights up for the exact same reason. This year I'm not feeling all fall and pumpkiny so instead I'm going straight to the sparkle of Christmas! I do wait until after my birthday (7 days to go) and then it's gonna be all out. My house becomes covered in glitter and twinkles and I cannot wait. I'm even taking a trip to Hobby Lobby as my b-day celebration so I can BUY ALL THE GLITTER!