31 days

With Thanksgiving over, the countdown to Christmas has begun. Today's mail brought my first Christmas card of the season. This afternoon, the Christmas display at my local grocer was already in place selling Christmas wares while "Christmas" music played in the background. The music, however, sounded an awful lot like Do You Know the Muffin Man with some sleigh bells thrown in. What's funny is that four years ago, during my first Christmas in Taiwan, that store probably didn't even have Christmas merchandise. In fact, any evidence of the holiday was hard to come by back then, but after just a few years, Christmas has been staking a claim, at least in the commercial realm. Despite the disheartenment that Christmas is growing in its international commercial appeal, it's still a welcomed sight. I love Christmas and it's so hard being so far from home this time year, so I can't help but embrace something familiar, something that feels, at least in a small sense, like home. My first encounter with Christmas festivities is a mere 2 weeks away. I'm ready. Bring it on.