Let the Madness Begin

No one wants to be a Grinch no matter what the holiday season is that is being celebrated . . . but, I am confused.  I am not sure exactly which holiday season we are supposed to be celebrating . . . is it Thanksgiving or is it Christmas?  Or, is it some sort of combination like “Thanksmas”?  I really don’t know anymore.

It was only a couple of days ago that there were knocks on the doors and costumed people wanting our attention . . . not to mention kids out trick-or-treating as it was Halloween.  It happens every year that there is an election.  Weren’t we just celebrating Halloween?  Now everywhere I go there is a mingling of Christmas in the midst of Thanksgiving.  Starbucks already has its holiday drink and red cup out heralding the start of some sort of holiday . . . it used to be Christmas, but Christmas is nearly seven weeks away.  I guess it is never too early to get into the holiday spirit . . . whichever holiday it might be . . . or to make a quick buck.  The stores are pushing this Thanksmas theme . . . the malls are decorated for a mingling of the seasons . . . and, the Halloween candy and costumes are marked down 75 percent!  The madness has begun!

I belong to a family in which the female side LOVE holidays.  The wife decorates the house in holiday themes throughout the year . . . ghosts and spookies during Halloween . . . turkeys and pilgrims during Thanksgiving . . . all things Christmassy during Christmas . . . bunny rabbits, birds, eggs, and a cross or two for Easter . . . springy stuff in the Spring . . . red, white, and blue for the national holidays . . . fall leaves and birds in the Autumn.  It seems as the themes change faster than the holidays appear.  The daughter marks her internal calendar by the holidays . . . of which her birthday is one of the biggest.  No sooner has one holiday exited out the door she is already celebrating the next.  So, you can imagine, holiday madness is not uncommon at the Keener Homestead . . . it is a part of life.

Despite the familiarity of holiday madness, it is becoming more and more confusing.  I do not like or appreciate the mingling of holidays . . . like Christmas overwhelming Thanksgiving.  I am a holiday purist who believes in celebrating one holiday before beginning the festivities of another holiday.  I want to have time to mourn the passing of one before embracing another . . . it almost seems adulterous hopping into the next holiday before the symbols and wrappings of the previous one are even packed away.  I especially do not want to mixed and mingle the holidays. 

I do not want to see my pilgrims wearing Santa hats, or my Santa Claus dragging a turkey to slaughter . . . I want them to remain separate and individual celebrations.  I do not want to walk into any store at the start of November and hear Christmas carols being played.  I do not want to see any Christmas tree raised before its time . . . especially before the Thanksgiving turkey has been carved.  I do not want to receive any Christmas cards before December . . . even if it the one my cousin—four-times removed—meant to send last year.  I do not want to see an ugly Christmas sweater before I have put away my ugly Thanksgiving sweater.  I don’t want to hear the ringing bells of the Salvation Army before my check for the homeless shelter’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner has cleared the bank.  Nor do I want to see people wearing reindeer antlers, flashing red noses, mistletoe, or poinsettias before their time.

No!  Let me stuff my face with left-over Halloween candy before the madness overtakes my life.  Let me count my blessings, search for the perfect turkey, and get ready for the post-Thanksgiving nap.  Let me relish the day-after-Thanksgiving football games.  Let me enjoy my family as we focus on giving thanks.  Don’t make me confused with some new sort of holiday known as Thanksmas!

We need to go back to simpler times . . . when holidays were simple.  Remember how, as a kid, a holiday meant no school, more time to play, opportunities to visit family and friends, and more time to have fun?  A simpler time when there was no confusion about which holiday we were actually in and celebrating.  A simpler time when we just relaxed and enjoyed the moment and the people for what they were and not what we wanted them to be . . . another thing to check off of the holiday list. 

No, I do not want to be a Grinch . . . but, something happens to me at this time of year . . . between Halloween and Christmas.  A darkness envelopes me and I can feel the madness creeping in.  I get so confused.  Is it Thanksgiving?  Is it Christmas?  Or, is it Thanksmas?  Who knows any more.  If that makes me a Grinch . . . well, so be it.  I doubt if there is anything that will ever make my heart grow four sizes bigger to embrace this holiday madness.  Bah humbug to Thanksmas!