Deck the Halls

I will never be one of those people that starts celebrating Christmas the minute the Thanksgiving dishes are off the table. That said, a few conversations I've had in the past week have convinced me that the old tradition that I'd slavishly followed my whole life of waiting until the 7th to break out the decorations, string up the lights, and switch my iTunes over to the "Christmas" playlist just didn't make any sense. So, weird as it seems, I'm ringing the season in now, at the beginning of Advent (which, if you follow the actual church calendar does not necessarily begin on the 1st, but I was never one to get hung up on church doctrines, to say the least). I may have changed the date, but I'm observing the event in the same way I do every year: staying up until midnight to listen to Duke Ellington's jazz Nutcracker. Yes, I lead a thrilling life. Make fun of me if you want. It won't bug me. It's Christmas!