November 28, 2016 (Monday)
Today is the first day of the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Shoppers have been apprised of the fact that there are 26 more shopping days until Christmas. It all started with “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving. Lots of folks waited in long lines and risked life and limb for bargains.
We get to see the movies again. You know the ones. “It’s A Wonderful Life.” “Scrooge.” “Scrooged.” “A Christmas Carol.” “The Muppets Christmas Carol.” Oh, wait, all those are the same story. Or there is “Home Alone,” and if that’s not enough, “Home Alone Again.” Movies about the Grench, Horton who hears a ‘Who’, “Santa Claus,” and “Bad Santa.” And on they go.
We get to hear Christmas music of all kinds again. The beautiful hymns like “Silent Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” supplemented by “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Frosty the Snowman.” And can we really celebrate without hearing the “Peanuts” theme song? What would Charlie Brown think if he knew we weren’t listening?
In days we will be hearing, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” and “White Christmas.” We in Rockport had given up on having a white Christmas until just a few short years ago when this seacoast town turned into a Christmas card overnight. Don’t give up–I’m reminded of a WW2 song,”We Did It Before and We Can Do It Again.” Maybe. Who knows?
And, oh yes, there’s something about somebody named Jesus. As we enter the twilight zone of the “in-between” days (between Thanksgiving and Christmas), let’s not forget “the reason for the season.” More about that later in these blogs. You can count on it.