God is a smart Creator. It’s almost as if he knew that Christmas needed to be placed at the end of the year, because it gives us a chance to cool down from all the stress and frustration that’s built up over the first 11 and 3/4 months.

This year has certainly been no exception. Whether it’s the plummeting economy and massive unemployment rate, or the fact we’re still fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or just the way it seems like manners and human decency are relics of a bygone area — there are plenty of things in today’s world to make a Scrooge out of any of us.

That’s why I’m glad to live in a town like Andalusia, where Christmas is not simply a one-day event, but something that lasts from the moment the Thanksgiving dishes have been washed and put away. Here, it’s only Dec. 5, and we’ve already enjoyed the chance to sing carols together at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, pick up and purchase gifts for Community Christmas angels, and see Santa Claus in the Andalusia Christmas Parade.

And of course, the events will continue throughout the month. It wouldn’t be Christmas in Andalusia, without the Andalusia Ballet putting on one of its holiday performances, and it will be exciting to once again have the chance to watch Nutcracker come to life at the Dixon Center on Sat., Dec. 12. Everyone’s smiles will brighten when those needy children receive their special gifts and a visit from Santa at the Community Christmas party on Fri., Dec. 18. And, of course, there will be no shortage of church-sponsored cantatas, musicals and services to awaken the Christmas spirit in all of us.

I look forward to again seeing the endless list of classic Christmas specials and movies on television. Again, there are too many to name, but I’d have to say among my favorites are A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the classic It’s a Wonderful Life.

I’m far too old for it now, but I still find myself also longing for the days when I was a kid, and I would chase my little brother through the maze of trees at the local Christmas tree farm. It was also at my school’s Christmas pageant that I remember uttering my first ever line on the dramatic stage — it was “baa.” (I played a sheep.) It’s memories like these that lead me to believe that it’s never too early to celebrate this most wonderful time of the year.

As Angela Lansbury sang so wonderfully in the Broadway musical Mame, “We need a little Christmas now.”