It is mid-November and the weather in Minnesota has finally started to become more seasonal. I look forward to that deep breath of crisp cool air each morning as I walk my daughter two blocks to the bus stop. As I take more breaths in and out, the fall air tastes almost like a mint on my tongue as the holiday season slowly approaches.
In my neighborhood, there are two kinds of people- those that decorate for the holidays before Thanksgiving and those that despise it. The latter often complain that it is "too early" and that we shouldn't rush through the holiday of thankfulness.
In my humble opinion, it is never too early to celebrate something as magical as Christmas. It is a season worth looking forward to - filled with magic, mysteries, joy, and the anticipation of the birth of our savior.
Decorating for the holiday "early" doesn't mean that we are forgetting about Thanksgiving. No friends, it simply means we are in anticipation of the magical season upon us, including Thanksgiving. Many of us are so filled with joy and holiday cheer that we want to show those around us on the outside just how we feel on the inside.
Feel free to talk to any therapist- the psychological benefits of looking forwards to something, such as Christmas, and setting up those decorations can be monumental for many people.
Setting up the holiday decorations can help someone feel a glimmer of optimism about the future. Maybe you are someone grieving a loss or have experienced a setback in life. Setting up your décor may mean that you are optimistic about the upcoming season, getting to celebrate with friends and family, or that you are going to be up to attending that festive party this year.
We are uniquely wired to imagine all sorts of potential scenarios for the future, and some of us who are more anxious tend to focus on the potential negative outcomes. By setting up your holiday décor, you may be effectively challenging those pessimistic beliefs about what lies ahead. You are imagining a brighter future- one where there are challenges that you will overcome.
Setting up our holiday decorations also can be motivating to us. It can help us achieve our goals we are working so hard towards. Perhaps you are a college student needing to push through the end of your semester- the decorations may motivate you to keep going and that the semester will soon end, which means you will get to celebrate the holidays at home with a loved one very soon.
Or perhaps you are a parent of littles on a tight budget. The décor may help motivate you daily to keep saving and penny pinching these next few weeks so that you can watch your children open those Christmas presents you purchased with complete joy and twinkles in their eyes.
Or maybe you are grieving the loss of a loved one this season. Setting up those decorations might motivate you to process that grief even more and find ways to incorporate that special someone into the weavings of your "new normal" this holiday (such as a scented candle that reminds you of them, a new special ornament for the tree they would have loved, or even a special gift in their stocking for the family to enjoy together).
Whatever side of the fence you may be on today (to decorate or not decorate before Thanksgiving), I sincerely hope that no matter what those around you are doing, that you keep choosing joy. Keep looking forward towards the future. Keep living life to the fullest and try not to spend too much looking at who's grass is greener (or who's home is already lit up with holiday lights). Those lights may be the very thing that brings some much needed joy to someone's world today!
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." - Romans 15:13