Not That I'm a Scrooge...

Not that I'm a Scrooge, but I think we have Christmas too frequently.

When you're a kid, I guess it's about right. Then, Christmas is always on your mind and the year can't pass quickly enough to get to said holiday. Of course, I was a little different as a kid because I hated New Year's. It depressed me--I didn't want to lose my grip on each old year because I didn't want anything to change, and I didn't want to grow up. But Christmas was fine as an annual event.

In fact, your mind is so young and your memory so fluid that you needed a few year's worth of traditions to cement the themes and memories of Christmas in your pulpish gray matter.

But as an adult, Christmas comes too quickly. And with decorations popping up around Halloween, Christmas has annexed about three full months--I don't get much of a chance to appreciate non-Christmas, or to build up much of a longing for Christmas to come.

Thanksgiving seems about right for a once a year celebration--you can't have turkey enough--and it's truly nice to do the family visit with the gratitude in your heart. Halloween also seems about right at it's current pace, as does Easter. Groundhog Day maybe needs to pop up twice annually--I sometimes miss that one the first time around.

And New Year's should only occur every third year--I'm getting too old.

** This post is not meant to infer that the joyous celebration of Jesus' birth should be recognized less, but that the intention of Christmas--that the gift of Christ should encompass all of life--should be emphasized more.