'Tis that time of year

Don't look now but the holiday season is about to swallow up our sanity. What tipped me off? The Christmas decorations are out already. The excuse is that with the mild weather we are having, it makes sense to start the celebration. My decorations are still safe and sound in the boxes I packed them away in last December 26 - I'll unpack them when the snow starts flying and the temperature dips into the 30's. There's a method to my madness. Inclement weather is an excuse not to make a garrish Christmas display out of my house.

Another tip off that we are about to wrestle with Christmas joy are the ads in the newspaper. Something about a Black Friday. From what I gather, Black Friday is the opposite of Good Friday. Whereas the latter is an occasion to be solemn and reflect on the beginnings of Christianity ( I'm sure this interpretation would not pass muster but it is mine and mine alone), Black Friday marks the beginning of the the commercial Xmas. It has some connection with the holy Christmas in that it is an occasion to get into the spirit of giving - to yourself. From what I read, Black Friday is sort of a stimulus package for retailers. In my case it only stimulates me to keep miles away from the mall.

I should mention that in the spirit of ignoring tradition, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day with a prime rib roast. Haven’t come up with a Christmas Day menu yet but I understand that amazon.com has some Black Friday deals on cook books which might help.

One more thing (yes, an end is in sight), it is well to remember that the season we are about to experience will be full of cliches. In honor of the cliche season (and with apologies to Rudyard Kipling), I give you:

If You Can

If you can keep from running around like a chicken with its head cut off
If you can keep your head screwed on right
And hang in there tough
If you can stand tall
And keep from banging your head against the wall
If you can quit when you're ahead
You are head and shoulders above the rest
And - which is more- from head to heels
You are one of the best

Happy Holidays!