Christmas should never be restricted to the month of December. We always hear the optimistic, always happy people who exclaim they have Christmas everyday. The premise and promise should be celebrated daily. There are those select folks who do celebrate Christmas without a calendar which include all of the accoutrements and joy to behold.
The first Halloween for our youngest son going door to door in our subdivision yielded an incredible surprise for me. He probably does not remember the event as vividly and clearly as I do. We approached a home decorated with sparkling twinkle lights and Santa figures in the yard. The woman answering the door was slightly emotional and made a huge fuss over Joe dressed in his Harley Davidson get-up. She then asked if I would like to bring him in to see their Christmas tree. I’m wondering why this woman would have a Christmas tree put up for Halloween. She seemed extremely put together and not the type to be over the edge. So, we entered her home into one of the most magnificent magical views of the joyous Christmas season. The tree was almost as high as the cathedral ceiling and dressed in a lit gold theme. The train was traveling around a village at the bottom with a horn blowing and holiday music was playing. The room even smelled like pine and holly. There were Christmas cookies displayed on beautiful plates and candy in extravagant jars. Every detail was accounted for.
My four-year old was mesmerized, enchanted and I later found out confused by the switch in holiday theme for the day. It took me a week to get him into the Halloween excitement with the explanations of dressing up and visiting the neighbors at night to receive a few pieces of candy. This woman, our neighbor had a son in the Army who was returning home from Iraq. He had been on the ground and fighting in the desert. Since he had missed Christmas with his family last year, our neighbor re-created the entire event for his homecoming. She cried when she hugged Joe goodbye.
This was the Halloween of 1987. My other son was ten years old. Little did I realize, he too would be involved in a war or conflict that never seems to end. They just give it different names for different reasons during all seasons. We too, kept our Christmas tree up for a January homecoming one year. Christmas shouldn’t have a calendar.