UK’s John Lewis
is a Master
every year when it comes to
CHRISTMAS
commercials
and what makes this even better
is that it’s a mere
a l t e r n a t i v e
and aren’t we humbled beneficiaries
because of it. . .
Of course it doesn’t hurt
to have a most awesome
THIS IS OUR HOME
song by
Ben and Andy. . .
which prompts us to
THE QUESTION
ARE WE EVER SO BLIND WHEN WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE
(but not exactly sure what we’re looking at)
There’s a reason
we have entered into the
SEASON OF LIGHT
especially since the darkness is getting longer
especially since the ever-so-long-pandemic
is ever so-long-from-ending
especially since the more
we see the less we notice
. . .It’s a question
asked every year when we come to this
S E A S O N:
WILL IT BE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
The Answer always sways on just one integer
Y O U

It really never matters
How
When
Where
but THAT
You bring Your LIGHT
to any darkened situation. . .

.    .    .and bring
your-blind-but-now-can-see-better-Self
h    o    m    e

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