Christmas Time Is Here Again

Listen while you read:  Annoyingly adorable . . . or adorably annoying?

(For the original, complete lyrics, go here:  O-U-T spells OUT!)

Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again

Ain't been round since you know when
Christmas time is here again
O-U-T spells "out"

~  The Beatles

Okay, I'm sorry! I couldn't resist! You know why? Because it was FIFTY YEARS AGO today that this "song" was released to members of The Beatles' fan club. (It seems like quite a few of my posts are marking fifty years, doesn't it? I guess 1967 was a very productive year!) This uncut 6-minute, 37-second recording is full of skits, improvised nonsense, and jokes. (It was later edited to remove swearing and excessive laughter.) In 1995, the song was reissued as the B-side of Free as a Bird, but trimmed down to three minutes.

I think it was safe to say in mid-December, back in the Sixties, that Christmas was "here again," but these days, it sometimes seems like it never goes away. Who invented "Christmas in July"?? It is not uncommon to walk into a store the day after Labor Day to find Christmas items for sale. Those who like to rant on about a "War on Christmas" are living in some kind of bubble. Christmas is alive and well and omnipresent.

And ten days away. Have I done any shopping? No. Baking? No. Decorating? No. Been there and done that. As much as I cherish my memories of Christmases past, full of all the trappings, I am unencumbered these days. My present to my family is a getaway. We will be spending Christmas on an island in Mexico! There will be eight of us gathered there to celebrate, explore, laugh, tell stories, feast, and raise our glasses. And we have promised each other to keep the "fun" in "dysfunctional."

Whatever holiday you celebrate and however you do that (or don't), I hope you are with someone you love. Love is all you need.