Christmas is a fixed date on the calendar, but while we all recognize Dec. 25 as the day, there is no agreement on when the Christmas season begins.
To our chagrin, some retailers consider the day after Halloween as the beginning of the Christmas season, and consumers are tempted to begin their homage to the season by shopping as early as Thanksgiving, or the day after, also known as Black Friday. Some families have long considered the weekend after Thanksgiving as the day to decorate their homes.
We believe the best harbinger of the season is the Columbus Christmas Parade.
Monday, the parade again rolled down its familiar route from the Columbus Soccer Complex, east on Main Street and back down College Street as hundreds gathered to watch the 60 entries — one of which was a horse-drawn carriage bearing Grand Marshal, MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig — slowly travel down the parade route on a pleasantly chilly evening.
The parade is one of those times when the greater Columbus community comes together under the best of all circumstances — no agendas, no grievances to air or causes to promote. It’s just a chance to get together and enjoy each other’s company, a community Christmas party where holiday wishes are exchanged between float riders and onlookers.
It is now just three weeks until Christmas and most of us will find ourselves caught up in the chaos that accompanies the season — shopping, parties, events, travel — all compressed into a span of a few short weeks. There will be so much to do and so little time to do it, it seems.
So Monday’s Christmas Parade gave us a moment to take a deep breath, kindle the Christmas spirit that sometimes gets lost in all our busyness and enjoy the arrival of the Christmas season before we descend into the inevitable madness.
The parade is a tonic of good cheer that fortifies us for what lies ahead over the next few weeks.
‘Tis the season, the parade tells us.
We are ready.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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