When I was a kid there were four days that were the most important days of the year. Those four days were my birthday, Halloween, the last day of school and Christmas.
All four of these days hold their own special importance and to some degree, they are still the most anticipated.
However now that I am an adult with kids, I think the first day of school has replaced the last day. Ask any parent and they will tell you the same.
Halloween has also changed quite a bit for me. As a kid, this day ranks among the most awesome days during the year and for obvious reasons. It’s the one night during the year that parents (most of them anyway) will allow their kids to literally eat candy for dinner.
My birthday is also an entirely different affair. Nowadays I hardly notice that my birthday is on the horizon or that it’s my birthday month. I’m really content with just having a nice lunch with my family and maybe a nice meal out with some close friends.
The last day to talk about is Christmas. This is the big one. School is out, Christmas sweets are in every house you visit, winter sports happen and it’s capped off with the actual day we (children) get all our presents from our older family members. If you’re lucky you’ll have a lot of aunts and uncles, all you grandparents, older cousins, etc. You see? The bigger your family the more presents you get to open!
Today, as a family man, I still enjoy the holiday season but again, for different reasons. For me, it’s much less about getting presents and more about making my kids smile, my wife blush, or my mom yell out with surprise with a much-desired gift or one that’s a total surprise.
Recently though, the Christmas (holiday) season has become highly anticipated for an entirely different reason. That reason is STAR WARS! In 2015 episode 7, The Force Awakens was released on December 18th and I was virtually counting the days until its release.
Then in 2016 Rough One was released on December 15th and the anticipation for that film was almost unbearable. Now it’s 2017 and on December 15 The Last Jedi is to be released and I can hardly stand it. I’ve read several reviews of the film and all of them are stellar (no pun intended).
It’s December 11th as I type this and we’ve had our tickets now for a week. So for good or bad, December STAR WARS releases have just about replaced the anticipation of Christmas. I’m already wondering what will be waiting for us in 2018.
Glossary:
On the horizon: Imminent. Happening soon.
Capped off: to finish or complete something. Like a holiday or meeting.
Unbearable: not able to be endured or tolerated.
Stellar: 1. Relating to stars. 2. Referring to a high quality performer or performers.
BY JOHN W. WENTZ
