Welcome Back

Welcome back.

I type those words, but they're misleading: none of us ever really left. How could we, with the Christmas season slowly stretching towards eternity? No, we've been here all along, keeping the yule log burning, the eggnog pouring, and the DVD player humming.

But, still, we've crossed a threshold. Black Friday's Eve is upon us once more, with turkey, mashed potatoes, throngs of screaming shoppers trampling each other to death, and cranberry sauce. A lot of people don't like cranberry sauce, but I've always been a fan of the stuff.

This year brings us something special. Well, really, it brings more of the same. But when the same refers to endless Christmas specials and a never-ending supply of holiday music, well... that's pretty special in its own right, isn't it?

You may be wondering what we still have left to watch after three years of this blog. If so, you're a poor, misguided fool with no conception of the depth this holiday offers. We've barely scratched the surface of the holiday, and that surface - like the Universe itself - is always expanding. Every year that passes brings more and more specials, direct-to-TV movies, and other opportunities to bury ourselves in Christmas cheer.

More art, more books, more music - my holiday set list is over 3,000 songs now and counting. More everything. Because that's what Christmas is: it's a time to buy yourself another flat-screen TV, time to watch another 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story, time to eat another dozen fruitcakes.

Don't be ashamed of being a consumer. Embrace it. Whether celebrating the birth of Jesus, Dionysus, or any of the other gods born around the winter solstice, this has always been the time to force down a little more, before it goes bad. Or, in the modern case of holiday specials, after.

Let the festivities begin.

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