It’s no surprise that the topic of celebrating Christmas early is hotly debated. Some people hold tight to strictly celebrating it after Thanksgiving, while others feel the holiday joy way before the season starts. While I agree that we should celebrate things in their proper season, there’s more to the Christmas season than just celebrating a commercial holiday.
Over the last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about why we celebrate Christmas. It is very easy to get caught up in the commercial aspect — presents, music, shopping — that we become blind to what we are truly celebrating. We get caught up in the logistics of the holidays the one true reason we celebrate. I celebrate Christmas early for two different reasons: to prepare my heart for Advent ahead of time, and to meditate on things that bring me joy.
To me, the Christmas season entails more than just music and gifts. It is the celebration of the fact that my Savior came into this world as a baby born in a humble stable to one day fulfill God’s plan of redemption for the world. This season is a time to meditate and prepare my heart for the delightful celebration of my Savior’s life.
We as Christians have many cliche phrases for this holiday, like “Jesus is the reason for the season.” That phrase is true, but if we only choose to acknowledge the wonder of his birth during the Christmas season and forget to meditate on it in everyday lives, are we truly delighting in the good news?
Our faith and joy in the Lord shouldn’t be confined to Christmas alone. We should choose to embrace and delight in it every day. This includes the good days as well as the times of grief and sadness.
My argument for celebrating Christmas early goes beyond the question of whether listening to Christmas music is acceptable in November. (It is, by the way.) More important is the meditative act of preparing our hearts for the Lord, anchoring our trust in Him, and choosing to look forward to His return with hopeful hearts.
All this to say, I encourage those who are opposed to celebrating Christmas early to keep an open mind and ask your friends why they do so, not with a dismissive attitude but with a curious heart.