I know. . .
I know what you’re thinking
N O W
and every 25th of every month
when I proclaim
(usually with a Christmas scene)
MERRY PRACTICE CHRISTMAS
(usually with how many more days until Christmas)
https://www.xmasclock.com
which usually elicits this resounding response:

But wait. . .
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
wasn’t my idea
so much as me picking up the
dirty-drug-through-the-dust-banner
and making sure it flies
U N F U R L I N G L Y
before you. . .

Werther, an 1892 French opera with libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann, had an English translation published in 1894 by Elizabeth Beall Ginty. In the story, a group of children rehearses a Christmas song in July, to which a character responds: “When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season.” It is a translation of the French: “vous chantez Noël en juillet… c’est s’y prendre à l’avance.”^[1] This opera is based on Goethe‘s The Sorrows of Young Werther. Christmas features in the book, but July does not.^[2]

In 1935, the National Recreation Association’s journal Recreation described what a Christmas in July was like at a girl’s camp, writing that “all mystery and wonder surround this annual event.”^[3]

The term, if not the exact concept, was given national attention with the release of the Hollywood movie comedy Christmas in Julyin 1940, written and directed by Preston Sturges.^[4] In the story, a man is fooled into believing he has won $25,000 in an advertising slogan contest. He buys presents for family, friends, and neighbors, and proposes marriage to his girlfriend.^[5]

In 1942, the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. celebrated Christmas in July with carols and the sermon “Christmas Presents in July”.^[6] They repeated it in 1943, with a Christmas tree covered with donations. The pastor explained that the special service was patterned after a program held each summer at his former church in Philadelphia, when the congregation would present Christmas gifts early to give ample time for their distribution to missions worldwide.^[7] It became an annual event, and in 1945, the service began to be broadcast over local radio.^[8]

The U.S. Post Office and U.S. Army and Navy officials, in conjunction with the American advertising and greeting card industries, threw a Christmas in July luncheon in New York in 1944 to promote an early Christmas mailing campaign for service men overseas during World War II.^[9] The luncheon was repeated in 1945.^[10]

American advertisers began using Christmas in July themes in print for summertime sales as early as 1950.^[11] In the United States, it is more often used as a marketing tool than an actual holiday. Television stations may choose to re-run Christmas specials, and many stores have Christmas in July sales. Some individuals choose to celebrate Christmas in July themselves, typically as an intentionally transparent excuse to have a party. This is in part because most bargainers tend to sell Christmas goods around July to make room for next year’s inventory.^[12] (from Wikipedia)
I KNOW. . .
I KNOW,
TOO MUCH INFORMATION, Right. . . ?
It kind of puts the
B L A N K
in the
B L I N K

But so too often
THE MESSAGE
is not always
THE MEANING

WE LIVE IN A SNOW GLOBE’D WORLD
often shaken
often turned upside down
often misdirected
often
U N S E T T L E D
and just when we think we
GET THE MESSAGE
we receive
THE MEANING
so
so
s i l e n t l y
“all is calm, all is bright. . .let heaven and nature sing,
JOY TO THE WORLD

So I don’t know what really
L I G H T S
your tree. . .
but whatever it is
make sure it stays lit in this dark world
and even better. . .
S H A R E D

I’m a severe sucker for

THE  TOUCHY/FEELY

movies.        .      .

if it can make your eyes water

if it can make your lip quiver

if it can make your heart beat differently

if it can make you want to grab for a nearby hand

then   Y  E  S

I’m I N

.         .       .especially if it’s a Christmas movie

and YES.         .       .

I’ll watch them anytime of the year

but especially now

as the temperatures dip

the calendar pages are turning

and we’re literally in the midst of

H  O  L  I  D  A  Y       C  E  L  E  B  R  A  T  I  O  N  S

I reflect on one of my favorite scenes from the remake of

THE    MIRACLE    ON    34th   STREET

I don’t think you have to wonder

W               H               Y

after seeing the short clip

of Santa signing to a beautiful little deaf girl

and the message is

well.       .       .

universal:

I butcher the English language

and me taking two years of German in college

(so that I didn’t have to take any Math Classes)

didn’t help me much sprechen zie Deutsch

but we never get THIS language wrong

in fact, we all speak it impeccably

WHEN WE SPEAK IT

.         .         , here’s to us all making it

a more effective

a more consistent

a more efficient

a more universal 

l         a         n         g         u         a         g         e

more of the time

especially past the holiday’s.       .       .

.         .        .When we come to realize THAT.           .           .

The Caring Catalyst 

In Each of US

will know that the real

H  O  L  I  D  A  Y       C  E  L  E  B  R  A  T  I  O  N  S

are just beginning

and better still—

N   E   V   E   R   E   N   D   I   N   G