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 Holiday decorations are going up early this year – and are good for our well-being!
Although it’s not uncommon to see holiday lights beginning to light up neighborhoods throughout our community following Thanksgiving, this year is noticeably different. People started decorating their houses and yards way before Thanksgiving. Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is you“ has been playing for weeks. Holiday movies are heavily advertised already. People are openly talking about wanting to see and enjoy all the holiday lights - early. The holiday season can bring joy to many of us and maybe this year particularly, we all need more joy than usual.
My wife and I don’t usually put our Christmas decorations up until a week after Thanksgiving, but this year, like for many others, everything was different for us. We put our Christmas tree in place early, fully ornamented and lit on Thanksgiving Day just before dark. The day after Thanksgiving we spent most of our time pulling out the rest of our holiday decorations and by that evening, we were in full holiday mode. Going through the boxes of ornaments made us think of past holidays when we would have had lots of friends and family over by now. Like many others we connected to family and friends via zoom to compare notes on how the turkey came out and to make plans for the next few weeks. We have already watched “Scrooge” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. For anyone wanting to see Chevy Chase turning on his Christmas lights, here is the video! Now, our home feels ready for the season’s activities and blessings.
This year, during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hardly surprising that we like so many in our community, are starting our holiday season celebrations early, and doing so in such an overt and visible manner.
Why is this? There are several main reasons to consider:
Firstly, the holidays are usually consumed with positive family-oriented events, and we particularly need to find a little joy wherever possible this year. We are all acutely aware of the rising cases of Covid-19 and the stress our colleagues and our community continue to endure. It is going to be a very challenging time for all of us. The fact that so many have chosen to get the holiday season going early makes sense. It helps to find positive distractions as a release. Opening the boxes of ornaments and talking about previous holiday events can be a much-needed diversion. Joy and hope, compassion and gratitude, love and caring, are all implicitly central to our holiday activities, and the core of our internal needs as humans.
Secondly, most holidays are times when we rejoice in both memories and traditions, whatever our religion, culture or beliefs. They are anniversaries when we think about past events and loved ones. Those people especially who have been important to us, and who we remember and cherish. It is a time when we seek both solace and joy in our traditions. These are different for every family, and are often driven and remembered by our children, who especially love the security of repetition and predictability from year to year.
These needs are especially great this year. A recent paper analyzed the social structure of those families who have lost a loved one from Covid-19 and calculated that every American who has passed has left, on average, nine 1st degree relatives (Parents, children, siblings and grandparents) that are grieving them. Approximately, three million people in this country have lost an 1st degree relative to Covid-19 and will grieve them for the first time, this Christmas. Please consider them and acknowledge their grief or loss. A kind compassionate word goes a long way.
It is the continuing uncertainty of the pandemic and losses like these, that are driving our need to make ourselves feel better and to celebrate the holiday season early. Celebrating the season and our beliefs is very important, while we continue to live in accordance with public health guidelines and acknowledge the losses around us, because it does make us feel better even at a time of grief and distress.
I encourage you all to put up your holiday decorations and enjoy your memories and traditions. Drive around your neighborhood and look at the lights. We can get back to a more usual holiday season next year, hopefully with much more social interaction and with more hugging, but this year we should make the most of what we have.
So, join me in putting up your decorations and celebrate the season as early as you want.
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