Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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Christmas Again?

Halloween wasn’t even past when I first noticed them twinkling in the streets. It was October 21 when I realized the City had put up their Christmas decorations. They hung there, merrily from the lamp posts, mocking me. They sparkled in the dark morning as I made my way to work, inciting rampant imaginings of what damage a blow touch could inflict on those joyous lights.

I haven’t yet moved past my autumn denial of winter ever arriving. What the heck are Christmas lights doing up there? Did the City crews run out of fun stuff to do? Did they decide to pull one over the good citizens of Edmonton? Are they deliberately trying to tick me off?

Well, it didn’t work.

This holiday season, I’m just going to let it flow. I will accept the fact that the holiday spirit always arrives before I’ve had a moment to gird my loins in preparation. I’ll tune out the horrible mall muzak that turns my stomach. I may even hum a carol or two. I am going to enjoy the holidays this year. I may even pick up some presents before Christmas Eve.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the season just gets rushed because people don’t have a lot to look forward to once the snow falls. We have a cold, dark winter ahead of us, flowers and sunshine behind us, and not enough long weekends left on the calendar. Christmas is intended to lift our spirits during one of the most trying times of the year.

We here in Edmonton have a deep and fully comprehensive understanding of what winter means. We are the largest northern metropolis on the continent. There’s a reason people aren’t flocking to more northern climes: winter is difficult up here. The days get so short that if you blink you’ll lose half of the day’s sunlight. It gets cold, so cold that you’re forced to buy all your groceries in bulk just to avoid any unwarranted time outside. Winter can hang on for so long that the flowers are hesitant to grow as the next foot of snow may just be around the corner. Even if it is well above freezing today that can change.

Christmas alleviates some of these sufferings. It’s a nice distraction from the fact that you can’t walk down the sidewalk without fear of breaking a hip. The season comes around so quickly because we are eager to distract ourselves as soon as the leaves turn colour, because we know what’s ahead of us.

So this year I’m just going to enjoy the spirit of the season. It’s either that or go mad with ranting against Christmas lights before November. Why bother? Chances are those lights were left up from last year.

Keri lives in Boyle Street. We wish her a Merry Christmas.

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