When I came to America in 1987, I disliked Christmas decorations on the outside of people’s homes, perhaps on the not very logical grounds that one July, I came upon a huge plastic Santa Claus with sleigh and eight reindeer galloping across a house roof in Maine. Years of sun and rain had dulled its bright reds and greens to dingy shades of dun and gray. I didn’t want to get onto that slippery slope. Because of this, my children speculated that my heart must be two sizes too small — also because, like the thunder-browed matron of a Dickensian orphanage, I wouldn’t let them get a Christmas tree until about mid-month. But all that Grinchiness is ancient history now. I’ve lost. The outside of my house is festooned with colored lights and looping coniferous foliage. A 10-foot Douglas fir was up and trimmed as soon as December began.
I’m not the only one now happy to get into the Christmas spirit early. This has been, literally, a pestilential year, and most of us will be glad to bid it adieu. The calendar is near to being flipped over to 2021, and not a moment too soon. In keeping with this desire to get into the holiday season, we’re publishing our special 12-page Christmas Books section this week. We hope it gives you ideas to add to your gift shopping list.
