Learning in the Sunshine State

If I had a nickel for every time someone said:

“It just doesn’t feel like Christmas when it’s so warm.”
“I can’t get into the spirit with this weather.”
“The holidays don’t feel right unless it’s cold/snowy.”

or any similar statement, I’d be a rich woman. But I feel sad for people who can’t change their view of what Christmas/December/Winter is “supposed” to be like. Supposed to according to whom? Who decided that northern climates have a lock on the right kind of weather for this month? What if warm weather is “right” and cold weather doesn’t “feel like Christmas”?

Here is how some of us view December, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. This is our normal. It feels just right. We sing songs about the cold and snow. We send cards with snowmen on them. But when we send Warm Wishes, we’re probably wearing shorts and tee shirts.

Decorating the outside of your house includes running lights around your palm trees.

Evenings are for opening the windows and letting the beautiful night air run through your house.

Children can often been seen outside on Christmas Day, riding their new Christmas bikes.

Evergreens? They’re a dime a dozen. The deciduous tree is the odd man out.

Mild is how the weather is usually described. I call it perfect, but there’s no P in December.

Breakfast often includes fresh squeezed orange juice, using oranges picked moments ago, from the backyard tree.

Every Florida child knows Santa doesn’t need a chimney in order to get in.

Release your narrow view of what Christmas weather should be like. The Holiday Spirit is in your heart, not in the outside temperature.