It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have just recently discovered something about all of the big holidays that are clumped together from Oct 31st through Jan 1st. They were created as a diversion to get people through the winter. Being from Bakersfield, CA where there is no winter, I always just thought they were for fun. But now that I live in a place that half the year seems to me like an uninhabitable wasteland, I realize I need Christmas Carols to convince me that it is actually a winter wonderland. I had never seen real snow when I first came to Utah and 15 years later, I still haven't warmed up to the idea. During my college years I discovered snowboarding to divert my attention from the discomforts of the local weather. Now that I have small children, I don't get to the slopes much but I celebrate the holidays more than ever before. So, as much as some people are peeved by celebrating Christmas too early, I'm startng now. I very much enjoyed creating a Christmas Carol playlist. I searched through all my favorites, listening to different versions. I chose about 25 songs (I couldn't narrow it down to less). And while I was at that website only 36 viruses loades onto my computer. I have a real love/hate for the playlist website.