That day between Halloween and Christmas

Somewhere in between Halloween and Christmas, we Americans have a great holiday called Thanksgiving.  Besides being the start of the holiday season, it also seems to unofficially mark the appropriate time to start even start thinking about Christmas.  As a kid, I never saw Christmas ads until after the Thanksgiving Day parade, and decorations, in my home anyways, didn’t go up until we saw the last calendar page of the year.  But, times have changed, and I’ve witness the over burdensome Christmas ads push their way through to Halloween to get my attention, and I don’t like it.

Moving to France, I thought got away from the over-commercialism of the holiday.  During my first few years, I saw Christmas decorations arrive sometime in mid-December.  While I didn’t fully understand why the nylon stuffed Santa, or Père Noël was always found climbing up the side of a house, I did appreciate the timeliness of the décor.  The lights were simple, the Santas humble, and there were no giant blow up yard balloons.

Thankfully, the later has still not arrived, but I have already been completely over saturated with Christmas paraphernalia.  Advent has not even started and I’m being directed to what chocolates I should stuff into the child’s shoes.  There is no metaphorical dam of Thanksgiving, and the flood gates have opened all the way to Halloween.  Christmas in October has arrived in France and I openly admit I’m disappointed.

As a bicultural home, we celebrate holidays that appear on both sides of the ocean.  Christophe is a strong believer in Thanksgiving and what it represents.  He might not be American, but the idea of bringing family and friends together to reflect upon our good fortunes is something he truly appreciates.  Sometimes, that’s hard to do with the noise of consumerism breathing down our necks.  So with that, we stand united on the idea to celebrate one day at a time; fall before winter and Thanksgiving before Christmas.  I still have a menu to plan, a table cloth to iron, and a few pies to make before I’m willing to discuss Christmas.  That is, I’m still preparing for Thanksgiving; that wonderful November holiday. 

For me, Christmas is not until next month.  I’m going to enjoy the turkey before anything else and remember the holiday is not just a precursor for what’s ahead.  Heck, I might even wait and see the last calendar page picture before I decide to go out and find my tree.

 

A blowup snowman dressed as hunter, for Christmas.  Really?