There is no other season like the Christmas rush for marketers. Many businesses depend upon great holiday sales to have enough revenue to carry them throughout the rest of the year. That is especially true if you are in the retail or nonprofit industries.

There is no other time of the year like Christmas for more reasons than just the sales bump. Not only are people in a disposition to make a purchase, but they are also in the frame of mind to seek something good that has nothing to do with presents under the tree. I normally write about marketing in the Nailing Post. Today I would like to lay my marketing hat aside and reflect upon the uniqueness of Christmas. It is unlike any other holiday we celebrate.

Christmas has more traditions than any other holiday. For instance, we may decorate for other holidays, but nothing compares to the decorations we do at Christmas. What other holiday mandates a tree to be placed in our homes and decorated with lights and ornaments? We sing a lot of songs this time of year that we don’t sing any other time. There are traditional Christmas carols: those that celebrate the birth of Christ, such as "Joy to the World.” We have other Christmas songs often tied to Christmas-themed movies, such as "White Christmas.” In fact, Bing Crosby’s recording of "White Christmas” is the best-selling single of all time, not just Christmas. Other holidays don’t really have classic movies and songs that come close to being that popular. Christmas traditions have deep roots with masses of people. It is a celebration like no other.

So why is this deep-rooted tradition so important to people? Why do they live their lives around it every year? I think it has to do with one thing: hope. Not to sound too much like a Hallmark movie, but I believe there is a yearning in each person for things to be good and right. However, most of us realize, that is not the way life rolls. There is discord and injustice all around us. There lies the conflict we feel on the inside. But during Christmas, we are reminded that good and right can overcome all of that. We hope that the "wrong shall fail and the right prevail,” as Longfellow wrote in "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” We celebrate Christmas because we hope in that truth… or do we? I would encourage you to do something as the season of Christmas hits its apex in the next few days. Find a quiet spot and let your thoughts go to that deep place inside of you. It may be in a service when you are lighting candles or listening to old classic carols. Let the noise around you be quieted for a moment to reflect on this question: Do you have hope? That is the message of Christmas when you get down to the roots of it all. No matter how bleak life appears, that hope overcomes the darkness. That is the uniqueness of Christmas. Do you believe it? I do!

Have a Merry Christmas!