The Holiday Season

So I was at Walmart today hoping to get some cheap Halloween candy, but, instead, I was greeted by the familiar red and green of the holiday season. What has this world come to where Christmas themes are put out hardly a week after Halloween. Seriously, Walmart and all of the other department stores need to keep the Christmas stuff down until later in November. Seeing those decorations makes me excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but then I realize that they're both pretty far off, and I get depressed. Although I don't get as depressed as the 2nd week after Christmas when all the bowl games are over and school starts up again. That really is depressing. And what's more, right after Christmas, Valentine's Day decorations go up, and after that St. Patrick's Day and Easter. Will I ever get a break from some sort of seasonal attraction. But alas, that is not the purpose of this post.

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year, as I'm sure is true of many people, second only to the summer time for several reasons. One, the food is absolutely amazing. Thanksgiving dinner might be the best meal of the year. Turkey and gravy, dressing, cranberry sauce, steamed oysters, shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers, sweet potato suflett (spelling?), Sister Shebert yeast rolls, key lime pie, creamy and cold ice cream. You don't get much better than Thanksgiving dinner. Second, the entire family is always together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The family is always good for lots of laughs and backyard games. Third, there is always tons of football going on during the holiday season except during the time in early December after the conference championships and the start of the bowl games. Fourth, presents, presents, presents. Need I say more? Fifth, the singing...Christmas songs are fantastic, and that's including carols, hymns, and more contemporary stuff too. I love the Christmas radio station that starts up in November and doesn't stop until after New Year's Day. Sixth but by no means the least important, Christmas is the time of celebrating the birth of Christ which, by itself, would make the holiday season incredible. It is a time when Christians remember when Christ humbled himself to come down to earth from his lofty seat in Heaven. I don't want to get too preachy, so I'll end my sermon right here.

In short, the holiday season is fantastic and is only beaten by summer time. If only the U.S. were in the Southern Hemisphere, then I could have both at the same time.