Back to our merry neck of the woods.
You're right that we understand and you can always pop in any time.
There's no magic button to push to keep the spirit alive; mine drifts in and out, but most of the time I find myself reminded of something Christmas related and think of the merry gang here and it brings me great joy. I have my moments too, especially when I see the once decorated trees tossed on the snowbanks and the stores put out the Valentine decorations before the extended Boxing Day sales come to an end.
The smiles, nods and greetings are exchanged less often with strangers and cashiers seem to lessen.
I remember one time when I was in the Santa Claus Parade and I kept waving to people on the walk home, forgetting that I was no longer part of a float; I was just feeling overly merry. Around here, people are generally friendly, but I'm considered too happy for some people. Waving to strangers may have seemed odd to them, but they waved back and most returned my verbal greeting.
In my city, people aren't afraid to say, "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Christmas" and we have an Old Fashioned Downtown Christmas Walk (Dickens style) with the lighting of the tree; we have a Christmas train and breakfast with Santa, a few of our local Santas are top notch; I gave one a side note about ClausNet where Santas gather and share experiences, wardrobes, etc.
I still wish people a Happy New Year well into February if I haven't seen them sooner.
I remember when I was a closet Christmas all year lover and had to listen to Christmas music during the "off season" with headphones and take out a few musical boxes or read a Christmas book to keep myself connected to such a special holiday.
Then I stumbled quite by mistake onto a Christmas forum called Christmas.com forums; the forums were removed and it's only a place to buy festive merchandise now.
Several of the merry folk here were on that forum, and I became "hooked on Christmas" with like-minded people instantly.
MMC is like a home away from home; each section of the boards are like visiting with a different relative; there's music, food, games, movies, and general chatter; it's perfect.
I honestly had no idea at the time that I'd still have stories to share and yet when I read different posts, they prompt a memory and I feel connected in a family-like way to everyone and just share what I'm thinking like you just did.
Our door is always open;hope yule knock on it more often.
Thank you so much for the kind words. It is amazing how this internet community can really hold each other up, just by way of having that mutual understanding of each other's love for the holidays. This forum really holds a special place for me. There is nowhere else I can go and feel free to lament on and on about it, and know that the people I am engaging with also understand it. If I hadn't been able to do that over the last several seasons it would have been much tougher to get through these post Christmas blues.
I don't know. When you try and describe your love for Christmas to somebody who doesn't fully understand it, it can actually feel downright patronizing sometimes when that person seems to just find it amusing, and sees you more as a novelty rather than really understanding the depth of what you are trying to express. Which is mostly the response I get, especially being a young guy who feels this way. So I don't even bother anymore.
And as a result, I think this is the season I've realized that I need this forum in my life more than I had previously thought. So thanks again!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Keep a merry thought in your head! 
