I love Christmas music. Really, I do. I've been known to spin some holiday tunes in the middle of July, when the spirit moved me. After all why can't you listen to Christmas music all year. I mean people listen to various and sundry genres all through the year. How dreary would it be if you could only listen to Show Tunes in, say, October, or large lush orchestral pieces in...oh, maybe...April. Or how about opera? What if there were only a few days of the year for opera? Hold on. Hmmm. Would that be so bad? Oh, I'm just kidding.
And ditto for Christmas decorations. The neighborhoods swaddled in lights and glitter are ever so much more handsome during the holidays. Wreaths and bells and bows; I love putting them up and resist taking them down. As a matter of fact, I don't put every holiday-themed item to rest in the attic after Christmas. There's a lovely rustic angel that lives with us all year long. And I love to collect fanciful shoe ornaments, and several of these survive the post holiday cut. Then there is always something that I miss when packing up the trinkets, and whatever it happens to be also gets a pass to avoid the summer temperatures of the attic.
For the most part, I think people smile more during this festive time. Strangers in the grocery store, clerks at the malls too. Or maybe because I'm smiling more, they are just responding. At any rate, it is so often suggested that it would be a nicer world if everyone could sustain holiday fever long past December calendar days. The patience and civility, sweetness and kindly spirit would go a long way, I think. Then, maybe the whole year could really turn out to be the most wonderful time.
