Starting Christmas Early
I’ve always felt a bit frustrated with how early Christmas starts for retailers.
- We celebrate Advent and put our tree up the weekend before Christmas.
- Celebrating the 10 days of Christmas goes to Epiphany so we try to leave our tree up until then.
- Cutting our own tree allows us to keep it up longer.
- I use the children’s Christmas stockings to give them each a small gift each day of the 10 days of Christmas so that makes it fun long after the official gift opening.
Then I received this email from Heather Hart
I love Thanksgiving partly because I love turkey, partly because I get to spend time with family, and partly because it’s the gateway to Christmas.
I have family coming in this week and am looking forward to Thanksgiving day, but in the back of my mind, I know that Christmas is coming.
The last couple of years the holiday season has come and gone so quickly that I almost missed it. It was New Year’s Eve and I wasn’t even ready for Thanksgiving. This year I want it to be different.
I want to celebrate this season to the fullest.
And part of that came from not holding Christmas at bay until Thanksgiving was gone. It came from learning to look at Thanksgiving as the gateway to Christmas. Yes, it is its own holiday, but it’s the start of such a wonderful season.
Thanksgiving prepares our hearts (and our homes) for the holiday season. It shifts us from our self-focus that lasts most of the year, to an attitude of gratitude. To be thankful for all that we have.
Our town is already sprinkled with Christmas lights. The stores are filled with holiday cheer. And one of the things I am most thankful for is Christmas. I am so thankful that God sent His Son to be born in a manger.
I’d never thought of Thanksgiving as the gateway to Christmas before.
It was a wonderful thought as I considered all believers giving thanks as they enter into Advent and up to Christmas.
My heart has been changed. We are putting our tree up today! And decorating! And I’ve already done some shopping.
You can see the heart change from my recent article – Can You Believe…Christmas Planning Before Thanksgiving?
Thank you, Heather, for opening my heart to a new way of looking at this.
May the Lord bless you this holiday season.
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