Christmas Decorations Do Not Disrespect Our Vets
- jim Young 191106
“In my home, Christmas and its decorations do not diminish the memory of our vets, it enhances them. Christmas and its decorations do not disrespect the memory of our vets, it honours them.” - jim Young
I would like to know who started the notion that it is disrespectful to decorate for Christmas before Remembrance Day.
This was not something I remember growing up with and it seems to be a recent concept.
I suspect it evolved from those people who are annoyed that stores start displaying Christmas decorations even before Hallowe’en.
Here’s a little known secret. The reality is EVERY business only sells their Christmas decorations during one brief time of the year. It begins when the majority of their customers START buying them and ends when the majority of their customers STOP buying them.
How do they determine when this time is? Their computerized cash register receipts tell them so.
If the public quits buying them early in the season, the stores will quit displaying them early in the season.
Don’t worry if you’re in the minority however, there’s a solution for that too. Just don’t patronize these businesses and you won’t be troubled by seeing the Christmas decorations that are on display too early for your liking.
Ironically, the suggestion that it is disrespectful to hang Christmas Decorations prior to Remembrance Day is, in itself, a show of disrespect to our veterans.
These brave men and women made their sacrifices to ensure we would have the freedom to decorate or not, for Christmas or any other reason, in any way and at any time we please.
At this time of year we are reminded to REMEMBER.
If you choose to REMEMBER by not putting up your Christmas decorations before Remembrance Day then I respect you for your choice.
Insisting I do the same however, infringes on my rights; the very rights that those that you are REMEMBERING, fought for on my behalf and on yours.
Like most people, on November 11th, I set aside some time to REMEMBER. However, just as I do not wait until Valentine's Day to express my love for my wife, I also REMEMBER these brave men and women at other times of the year.
During World War II, my grandfather spent four Christmases overseas, separated from his young family.
In 1942 my grandfather wrote to my father, “maybe next year around this time we will be able to go and get a Christmas tree and maybe fix up the train around it.”
I still have that train of my father’s and when it takes its place under the Christmas Tree it is a reminder of those Christmases my grandfather spent alone overseas as so many others like him.
It is the joy, the smiles and the laughter of Christmas that my grandfather missed the most those many years ago and I like to do my part to ensure there is as much of that as possible each year to make up for those years he missed.
Remembering is the ultimate respect. I will REMEMBER on November 11th and Christmas decorations will not diminish that memory or the respect
- 30 -
“In my home, Christmas and its decorations do not diminish the memory of our vets, it enhances them. Christmas and its decorations do not disrespect the memory of our vets, it honours them.” - jim Young
This was not something I remember growing up with and it seems to be a recent concept.
I suspect it evolved from those people who are annoyed that stores start displaying Christmas decorations even before Hallowe’en.
Here’s a little known secret. The reality is EVERY business only sells their Christmas decorations during one brief time of the year. It begins when the majority of their customers START buying them and ends when the majority of their customers STOP buying them.
How do they determine when this time is? Their computerized cash register receipts tell them so.
If the public quits buying them early in the season, the stores will quit displaying them early in the season.
Don’t worry if you’re in the minority however, there’s a solution for that too. Just don’t patronize these businesses and you won’t be troubled by seeing the Christmas decorations that are on display too early for your liking.
Ironically, the suggestion that it is disrespectful to hang Christmas Decorations prior to Remembrance Day is, in itself, a show of disrespect to our veterans.
These brave men and women made their sacrifices to ensure we would have the freedom to decorate or not, for Christmas or any other reason, in any way and at any time we please.
At this time of year we are reminded to REMEMBER.
If you choose to REMEMBER by not putting up your Christmas decorations before Remembrance Day then I respect you for your choice.
Insisting I do the same however, infringes on my rights; the very rights that those that you are REMEMBERING, fought for on my behalf and on yours.
Like most people, on November 11th, I set aside some time to REMEMBER. However, just as I do not wait until Valentine's Day to express my love for my wife, I also REMEMBER these brave men and women at other times of the year.
During World War II, my grandfather spent four Christmases overseas, separated from his young family.
In 1942 my grandfather wrote to my father, “maybe next year around this time we will be able to go and get a Christmas tree and maybe fix up the train around it.”
It is the joy, the smiles and the laughter of Christmas that my grandfather missed the most those many years ago and I like to do my part to ensure there is as much of that as possible each year to make up for those years he missed.
Remembering is the ultimate respect. I will REMEMBER on November 11th and Christmas decorations will not diminish that memory or the respect
- 30 -
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