The holiday season has began amping up while Christmas music fills the air. Anyone in their right mind has begun to imagine images like this:
or this:
and a whole lot of this:
Beautiful, right? Nothing like a crackling fire and snowy landscape to put you in the Christmas spirit. These are all holiday staples and moments that everyone has now that it's December, right?
Well. Not in Florida.
I was born and raised in the north and Christmas down in Florida is nothing like Christmas up there. I'm dealing with culture shock when it hits December in the Sunshine State. Here are some the strangest things you come in contact with while celebrating Christmas in Florida.
1. The Christmas trees aren't Christmas trees
They're palm trees. Not once since I moved to Florida have I laid eyes on a traditional Christmas tree. Sometimes people will buy some fake evergreens and decorate them, but I haven't seen a real one. Even weirder is seeing full holiday Christmas spreads on people's front lawns when its still hot out. Santa sure looks sweaty to me standing on that rooftop in the 80 degree weather.
2. It's still outrageously hot
That 80 degrees thing was not an exaggeration. I'm writing this sitting at a table outside, the sun shining and the thermometer resting at a balmy 77 degrees. In December. Those Christmas-y palm trees were decorated by people wearing shorts and tank tops. No cozy christmas sweaters, no wintertime bonfires. And, because it's so hot...
3. There is no chance for a white Christmas
None. It's very weird waking up and expecting to bundle up in order to combat the Christmas cold and snow only to see green grass, lush greenery and palm trees swaying in the warm, Floridian breeze. This makes it pretty hard to get into the Christmas spirit. You can listen to Christmas music while you tan by the pool until you're as bronzed as a Victoria's Secret model, but the effect will probably leave something to be desired. And, you know, adding hot chocolate will probably give you a heat stroke, because... Florida.
4. It's a very, merry Mickey Mouse Christmas
The way people talk about Disney around Christmastime would make you think that Mickey Mouse is the one who's climbing down the chimney come Christmas. The billboards, radio stations, TV commercials, everything, are suddenly super saturated with Disney ads trying to coax locals and tourists alike into visiting for the holidays. If you thought Christmas was commercialized before, hit Orlando around this time of year and enjoy trying to avoid the eternally-competing theme park ring that seems to get more and more competitive with each passing year.
Of course, while these things make Christmastime in Florida weird, they don't make it bad. Sure, there's nothing like snow around Christmas to get you in the holiday spirit, but I'll gladly walk around in shorts and a t-shirt year round and enjoy the hiatus from shoveling snow. And yeah, the decorated palm trees are a little odd, but I'm happy to enjoy the Christmas lights without feeling frostbitten. There's nothing like a white Christmas spent snuggled up to a warm fire with hot chocolate warming your hands, but Florida Christmases sure do have their own charm to them...
Even Santa thinks so!
