Every year, on November 1, my Christmas season officially begins.
I know what some people are thinking. November? Isn’t that a little too early?
Maybe. But not for me.
There are three reasons why I start celebrating Christmas so early. And to explain them, I need to take you on a little journey through my life.
The first reason is my childhood.
I grew up in Bulgaria, where Christmas wasn’t widely celebrated when I was a child. Until the political changes of 1989, our big winter celebration was New Year’s Eve.
We had presents, family gatherings, and Grandfather Frost, or Diado Mraz, who arrived at midnight. For children, it was the most exciting night of the year. We were even allowed to stay awake until midnight!
In the early 1990s, Christmas gradually returned to public life in Bulgaria. At first, we didn’t really know how to celebrate it. We were learning, year after year.
And those years remain especially close to my heart.
I remember the temporary Christmas markets, the stalls appearing in different places around the city, and the excitement of discovering traditions that were still new to us.
Perhaps that’s where my desire for a longer Christmas season began. I didn’t want that wonderful feeling to disappear after just a few days.
The second reason is becoming a father.
When my wife and I started our life together, we discovered that we shared the same love for Christmas. We began decorating earlier, choosing thoughtful gifts, and creating our own traditions.
Then our son was born, and Christmas became even more important to me.
I wanted him to experience the magic I loved so much.
When we moved to the United States, I was incredibly excited. I had watched American Christmas movies, listened to Christmas carols, and imagined Christmas in America as something extraordinary.
And it was beautiful. But it wasn’t exactly the magical world I had imagined.
That’s when I understood something important.
Christmas wasn’t going to become magical simply because of where we lived.
I had to create that magic myself.
For my son. For my wife. For our family.
And the third reason is a decision I made in 2020.
It was the year of the pandemic.
My parents couldn’t come to visit us, and we were terribly disappointed. We were going to spend Christmas at home, just the three of us, surrounded by the same four walls.
My wife and I wondered how we would manage to make it special.
And then one thought changed everything.
But we are together!
We had each other. We had our home. We had the opportunity to create beautiful moments, even during a difficult year.
And I realized that this was exactly what I wanted Christmas to be.
Not three days. Not five. Not even twenty.
I wanted enough time to enjoy the season, to create memories, to appreciate my family, and to experience that special feeling without rushing toward December 25.
After a long year, don’t we all deserve a little more time together? A little more warmth? A little more magic?
That’s why my Christmas begins on November 1.
Not because I want Christmas Day to arrive sooner.
Because I don’t want Christmas to pass too quickly.
GK
