Our most enjoyable Christmas we are celebrating in October. I know what you’re thinking. Well, maybe I don’t, but let me take a guess. 1) Don’t you think we rush the season enough already?  2) Have you two lost your minds?

The answer to the second question is debatable. But the answer to the first question is, “We didn’t rush the season. We moved it.”

I hear a lot of complaints about Christmas becoming commercialized. The birth of Christ has been swallowed up by everyone’s holiday to-do list. The meaning of the celebration has been lost. And much of that is true. So why not leave December 25 behind and celebrate the birth of Jesus at a different time?

By now you are really wondering about the “lost your minds” question.  However, it might be the clearest thinking we’ve done for a while. After all, what is so important about December 25?  Jesus wasn’t born on December 25.

Celebrating Jesus’ birth in October means no Christmas cards. No gift giving. No visiting the relatives. No dinners that must be bigger and better than last year. No office parties. No over indulgence. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy most of those activities, but not all at the same time in the span of three to four weeks. When our activities overshadow the celebration of the greatest news ever heard, something should change. So, we did change. We changed the date of our celebration.

Granted we have artificial Christmas trees-so we could get them out in October-in late September actually. And since we have lots of Christmas CD’s we could enjoy all the carols we wanted. I also put out a few Christmas decorations each day, having the time to enjoy the process without a deadline looming. A few special foods also added to our early celebration. But the joy of reflecting on the fact that Our Lord was born-to ultimately die for each of us-was the most important aspect of our celebration. We truly celebrated His birth.

Of course, just because we are celebrating in October that doesn’t mean Christmas has moved for everyone.  In December, we will participate in many of the Christmas activities mentioned previously. But this December will be different. This December we have the foundation of knowing that we have already paused to reflect on the birth of Christ. Our hearts will already have been filled with the amazement of the greatest news ever heard.