Christmas in July
Years ago, a church I attended decided to have a "Christmas in July" celebration.
Needless to say, some members were surprised. They'd seen stores participate in a promotion to get people to start thinking about buying presents to put aside for Christmas. That promotion didn't go over so well with customers who think there's too much emphasis on buying for that holiday to begin with, but it did serve to make some of us who are so busy to buy early and tuck aside gifts when we saw something really special. Unfortunately, when I do this I sometimes forget where I've put them or I just can't resist giving the gift early. One year a friend got hers in September...).
Anyway, the church was decorated with a tree and a Nativity and other decorations. That Sunday, the minister talked about how in the frenetic days leading up to Christmas, as they cleaned and shopped, people often forget "the reason for the season." It was a thoughtful service where we focused totally on the birth of Jesus. Many people went away vowing that in December, they would work harder to remember to celebrate His birth.
I love the Amish tradition of having two days to celebrate. One day is for a religious celebration and the next is for friends and family to exchange gifts. In this way, they focus on honoring the birth of Jesus and they also still have a day to let friends and family know they're special with a gift, usually hand-made or something that's still useful, like a previously used pair of ice skates.
I'm thinking of Christmas now, in July, because it won't be much longer before An Amish Christmas appears in bookstores -- early, so you can buy a copy as a gift to you, and tuck away another copy or two for friends for a Christmas present later in December.
Beth, Kathy, and I have talked about having a giveaway of some copies signed by the three of us. "Stay tuned" to this site and we'll let you know when we launch the contests for them.
In the meantime, have a happy and safe Fourth!
Needless to say, some members were surprised. They'd seen stores participate in a promotion to get people to start thinking about buying presents to put aside for Christmas. That promotion didn't go over so well with customers who think there's too much emphasis on buying for that holiday to begin with, but it did serve to make some of us who are so busy to buy early and tuck aside gifts when we saw something really special. Unfortunately, when I do this I sometimes forget where I've put them or I just can't resist giving the gift early. One year a friend got hers in September...).
Anyway, the church was decorated with a tree and a Nativity and other decorations. That Sunday, the minister talked about how in the frenetic days leading up to Christmas, as they cleaned and shopped, people often forget "the reason for the season." It was a thoughtful service where we focused totally on the birth of Jesus. Many people went away vowing that in December, they would work harder to remember to celebrate His birth.
I love the Amish tradition of having two days to celebrate. One day is for a religious celebration and the next is for friends and family to exchange gifts. In this way, they focus on honoring the birth of Jesus and they also still have a day to let friends and family know they're special with a gift, usually hand-made or something that's still useful, like a previously used pair of ice skates.
I'm thinking of Christmas now, in July, because it won't be much longer before An Amish Christmas appears in bookstores -- early, so you can buy a copy as a gift to you, and tuck away another copy or two for friends for a Christmas present later in December.
Beth, Kathy, and I have talked about having a giveaway of some copies signed by the three of us. "Stay tuned" to this site and we'll let you know when we launch the contests for them.
In the meantime, have a happy and safe Fourth!
Oh, I am so excited about this book. I can hardly wait!! And.. another giveaway! You are truly generous authors. An Amish Christmas is really something to look forward to.
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Karla,
So nice to hear you can't wait, either.
I love the way the inter-connected stories turned out.
Thanks for reading our blog!
Barbara
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I have the book pre-ordered from CBD & I can't wait until it gets here! For some odd reason, I always start thinking about Christmas beginning around the 4th of July! Weird, I know! Maybe because it is so horribly hot here in Texas in July, I start longing for the coolness of December! LOL! Anyway, I am really looking forward to reading this book! Happy 4th to all!
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Cathy,
Thanks for pre-ordering our book! Pre-ordering is such a great idea, don't you think? No going by the bookstore and finding that they just sold the last copy...
The weather here in Florida has been horrible, too. It was nice to write my novella for An Amish Christmas in the winter-- it doesn't often happen that you get to write something in the same season the story is happening in. There was no snow here so I turned the a/c on low and remembered snow in Ohio, where I lived for fourteen years.
Barbara
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I enjoyed this and maybe it would be easier to have Christmas in July. People could travel without worry about snow. I buy my Christmas gifts all year long. I have a bag I put them all in as I get them. Come Christmas all I have to do is wrap them. This way people know I thought of them all year.
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Dear Jane,
Thanks for your kind words about the blog. Yes, wouldn't it be great if people didn't have to travel through bad weather for the Christmas holiday?
I like what you said about how people know you thought of them by buying their gift ahead, not at the last minute. It helps on holiday wear and tear and spending too much, too!
Barbara
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Looking forward to the book. I like to start shopping for christmas during the summer months. It's so hot here in Texas its hard to shop anywhere right now!!!
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Lillie,
Thinking about Christmas always makes me happy and also a little cooler!
Last night on the weather they talked about a cold front somewhere in the U.S. Cold front. Don't we in warm states wish for one right now?
Barbara
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