Winnipeg had a mild fall, with a snowfall evaporating by the next day, with some people hanging onto to shorts for as long as humanly possibly. Could it be, some thought, a Christmas without snow? December rolled in and with five days into the month, the weather laughed as if to say, Dudes, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The city now finds itself under a winter storm warning. Typical Winnipeg weather, wait a moment and watch it change in barely an eye blink.
The snow dump, whether it slows the city or shuts it down, will make things look more like Christmas. I confess to barely think about Christmas, just enough to put my lights up on my balcony during the next-to-last balmy day in November. My family has reached a point simple works best for gift giving, getting together feels more important than giving gifts. However, I do wrestle with that perennial question about what to give my twenty-year-old nephew as he gets closer to a working, adult world.
Christmas does mean music. I love Christmas music and will have two or three versions of a carol. During my book retail days, good Christmas music helped salvage whatever holiday feeling I still have, a difficult thing for anyone with a child-like spark for the holiday season. This year, people will have a tough time reconciling what’s going on now and the message of peace of earth. While it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, it’s only a part of the whole story.
Unpaused Life 