A few months after moving into our house in Villas, my dear friend and roommate asked me: “What the hell is up with Christmas in July?”
I was stunned and stammered at the time, but I’ve since collected myself and have come up with a few answers. First, Christmas in July is a tried-and-true way to drum up hype during the middle of the summer tourism season. Christmas has an easily identifiable aesthetic that most of us love. Why not trot it out twice? Why not have a “Christmas in July” sale at the lingerie store in Cape May, or a Santa Sale at the car dealership?
All the folks who buy a Christmas Minions inflatable are probably happy for another excuse to whip them out.
My twin and I were born on Christmas Day, so personally, I’m happy to have a second chance at the holiday. Anybody who gets their hands on my ID – the liquor store clerk, the pharmacist at CVS, the lady working at the MVC – asks me if I get double presents. No, I tell them. I get half!
Christmas in July, to my understanding, has a “real” reason for existing. Those unfortunate enough to live in the heat of the southern hemisphere have their Christmas in the summer, so “Christmas in July” for Australians is a way to have a traditional winter celebration. And for those of us in New Jersey, it’s a way to see what hot Christmases down under are all about.
My stepdad was a colonel in the Air Force. I was lucky to spend every Christmas with him while he and my mother were together. But his co-workers weren’t always so fortunate. For troops expecting a December deployment, Christmas in July is a way to celebrate the most sacred of holidays with those they love.
There’s a cynical way to look at Christmas in July. Christmas proper celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, a man who more than half of Americans claim as their personal savior. But the reality of Christmas is so far removed from Christ that it has become, in the words of Sufjan Stevens, “Frankenstein’s Monster.”
But I love that monster –the feeling that Christmas tropes bring and the way they bring people together. Christ may be a faint echo at the back of Wildwood Crest’s Christmas in July boat parade and the Golf Cart Parade in Wildwood. But buddy, grab a beer. The vibes are good.
