When Christmas starts coming to mind

It can begin on an ordinary September afternoon. There’s still light across the table, and the window is open a little. Then a Christmas song comes to mind. You remember the entrance of the piano, or the way the chorus lifts, and find yourself looking forward to hearing it again.

For a moment, the year ahead has music in it.

Perhaps your first thought is a color instead. Burgundy velvet in a shop window, or something gold catching the sun. You imagine it against green branches. Then you picture those branches in your own home, and the thought follows you through the rest of the day.

That small flash of anticipation is a lovely part of Christmas. The season begins to feel personal while it is still some way off.

The room you can already picture

A familiar room is easy to imagine with a tree in it. You know the view from the sofa and the place where the afternoon light falls. Add branches and ornaments in your mind, and the room seems to have another version waiting to appear.

You might picture a star above the tree. Or the bright reflection of an ornament that looks especially good from your favorite seat. Perhaps it is the whole tree you see first, bringing color to a part of the room you pass every day.

There is pleasure in imagining the smaller moments, too. Coming in with groceries and seeing the lights. Looking up during a phone call. Sitting down with your usual dinner in a room that feels a little different. Christmas begins to find a place among the things you already enjoy about being home.

Something familiar, something still to come

Some of the excitement lies in knowing what you love. A favorite recording has the same wonderful opening. A deep red ornament is still the color you hoped it would be. The familiar parts give you something definite to look forward to.

The coming season has room for discoveries as well. A song you haven’t heard before might become the one you play twice. A tree you choose for its shape might turn out to be full of small details you love seeing close up. You might find that this year you’re drawn to more color, or a little more sparkle.

That mixture is part of the appeal. You can recognize the feeling of Christmas and still wonder what this particular Christmas will be like.

A little pleasure ahead

Looking forward has its own pace. A passing thought becomes a conversation, or a tune hummed while you make coffee. One evening, as the light leaves the room a little earlier, you imagine how the tree will look there after dark.

The thought is enough to make you smile. There will be favorite things to see again, music to turn up and a room you’ll be happy to come home to.

For now, Christmas can be that lovely idea which keeps returning. Each time it does, you get a little of the pleasure already.