I love the holidays. I adore snow. I can even tolerate tinsel when applied in small doses.

In fact, Christmas is my favourite time of the year.

However, I cannot be expected to begin partaking in festivities and getting into the Christmas spirit halfway through November.

We haven’t had our first significant snowfall and temperatures still hover close to zero. Trimming a tree without a winter wonderland landscape outdoors seems like a sham.

It’s like Christmas in Arizona. Awkward.

The mall is decked with decorations, we hear of tree-decorating contests and Justin Bieber is singing about mistletoe. However, it’s usually awhile before I feel like relishing in the joys of Christmas.

In Lethbridge you needn’t look far to find an event or elaborately decorated house celebrating the upcoming holidays. Which in light of recent information regarding poverty levels in the city is surprising.

Locally, one in five children is below the poverty line, one in seven families has a single parent and 42 per cent of urban Aboriginal families face similar circumstances.  Local food banks and soup kitchens are in increasingly higher demand.

Yet everywhere you look, people are beginning to celebrate Christmas. A month early.

Despite hardships and worries, we live in a community where the spirit of Christmas isn’t reserved for a two-week period.

In times of difficulty, maybe green and red strung lights aren’t just for decoration and silly festive songs from our youth aren’t for fun. Maybe in seasons when we need it most, these things can represent hope.

It is amazing to me that those less fortunate who face such heartbreaking situations, can still find it in themselves to celebrate.

Perhaps I’ll decorate a tree when I get home tonight.