We live in cycles. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Each year, a birthday celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of another.<\/p>\n
Our work is in many ways a series of endless cycles. Teachers begin and end school years. Mechanics advise on how to break in a new car or how to squeeze more miles out of an old one.<\/p>\n
To every job or business, there are seasons of feast and famine.<\/p>\n
Life, some say, is one eternal round. We are born, we grow old, we die.<\/p>\n
In our celebration of Christmas we really just cycle through the same events over and over. For some of us who love Christmas there is always something to celebrate on the calendar.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why, at this time of year, as the summer is fading in the Northern Hemisphere, we proclaim the BER months of SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER and DecemBER.<\/p>\n
It is one third of the year \u2013 a key part of our eternal round of Christmas.<\/p>\n
~ What Exactly Are We Celebrating? ~<\/strong><\/p>\n Christmas is a day. December 25th, that\u2019s the holiday. But it is unlike any other holiday.No other holiday has the anticipation, the sparkle, the decorations, the food, the music, the culture, the history or the longevity of Christmas. There is simply no other day like it.<\/p>\n That is because it is not just a day. It\u2019s a season.<\/p>\n No other holiday can claim that.<\/p>\n The BER Months are a declaration of the Christmas season. It lays the foundation. It fuels the anticipation. It signals arrival. The BER months, more than any other part of this cycle we call Christmas, are a destination all by themselves.<\/p>\n Hitting September 1st means we have turned the corner. Something has ended, and Christmas has started.<\/p>\n The BER months are the reason there are Christmas decorations for sale in Costco. The BER months are why pumpkin everything goes on sale before pumpkins are actually ready to harvest. The BER months, through some self-driven magic, cause candle buying season to begin.<\/p>\n The BER months mean kids are back in school, certain movies find their way to screens and gatherings are planned. The BER months mean football, the World Series, hot chocolate, and baked goods.<\/p>\n The BER months signify that we can finally talk about it. The decorations. The lights. The parties. The gifting. Before the BER months get here you can\u2019t talk about that stuff. But once the BER months arrive all the muzzles come off.<\/p>\n We celebrate all that and more when the BER months arrive.<\/p>\n It\u2019s more than a date on the calendar. It\u2019s a feeling. An aura. A sense of home, hearth, warmth and good feeling.<\/p>\n ~ We Don\u2019t Own the BER Months ~<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you know where the BER months are most fanatically celebrated? The Philippines.<\/p>\n In the Philippines \u2013 with its equatorial climate of constant green amidst regular afternoon rains \u2013 they don\u2019t waste their time on fall leaves, the harvest and pumpkin treats.<\/p>\n They dive head-first into Christmas music, Christmas trees and Santa Claus. From September 1st onward it\u2019s all Christmas all the time. Like Christmas itself, the BER months are the Philippines\u2019 unique spin on the holidays.<\/p>\n We just can\u2019t claim exclusivity with the BER months as Americans. It\u2019s not just lattes, autumn wreaths and candy corn. Others have their take on it.<\/p>\n In fact, whether by location or by history, the BER months don\u2019t belong to anyone.<\/p>\n Hallmark has no ornaments for the BER months.<\/p>\n They are appear on ZERO calendars as holidays.<\/p>\n They aren\u2019t a thing, officially, on the promotional schedules of commercial businesses, by the makers of fashion, or the hangers of lights.<\/p>\n We have plenty of other such months of the year they lay claim to:<\/p>\n January is the month of dieting. February is all about love. March is Spring, April is Easter, and May is Mother\u2019s Day\/Memorial Day\/Graduation.<\/p>\n BBQ season begins in June, along with camping, fishing and flip-flop season. July is marked with stars-and-stripes and August is Back-to-School.<\/p>\n The BER months eclipses them all and nobody puts anything on sale for it.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t send each other BER cards, sing BER carols or leave out milk-and-cookies for the BER-man.<\/p>\n The BER months are not religious. Yet we claim them with reverence. The BER months are pure.<\/p>\n They remain undefiled by commercialism (unless your name is Yankee, Little Debbies or Starbucks).<\/p>\n ~ So What Do We Do During the BER Months? ~<\/strong><\/p>\n How are the BER months celebrated? We talk. We share. We invite. We discover. We relish.<\/p>\n For some, all that comes with doing normal things. Clearing out the garden. Fertilizing the lawn. Tossing a football. Reading an old book. Plotting a Christmas surprise. Shopping for new Christmas lights. Making a plan.<\/p>\n It is taking joy in taking joy. It is a deliberate effort to plan to celebrate, to look forward to being happy, to anticipate feeling free.<\/p>\n The BER months feel so good because for many of us it is a time when we can focus on others and remember those we love or have lost. It\u2019s the season of reflection before the season of planning a new with goals, targets and gotta-do\u2019s.<\/p>\n The BER months are a time when we recognize we aren\u2019t alone with all these feelings. The advent tracking of Christmas has ancient roots. The anticipation of the year end and of Christmas is not exclusive to our generations. People have always done it, we just do by calling the BER months what they really are.<\/p>\n We rememBER and we numBER our blessings during the BER months. Gratitude is a huge part of it.<\/p>\n This is all why the BER months matter. Arriving at the third and last part of the year gives us clear reason to celebrate. We\u2019ve worked hard, we have met goals, we have accomplished a great deal.<\/p>\n The BERs mean it is okay to be grateful and to celebrate. It means it is okay to have Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We live in cycles. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Each year, a birthday celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of another. Our work is in many ways a series of endless cycles. Teachers begin and end school years. Mechanics advise on how to break in a new car or how to squeeze more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":36114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Why the BER Months Matter | MyMerryChristmas.com","_seopress_titles_desc":"The BER months are a marker on the journey to Christmas. 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