Wrapped presents under a tree, spectacular lighting displays and fancy cookies all make Christmastime a very happy time of year.
But another December custom might not be getting the attention it deserves.
Getting engaged.
In the last week, and just in my not-all-that-large social media circus tent, I’ve learned of 1-2-3 marriage proposals.
All took place in different states, either on Christmas Day or right before. One is a friend whose daughter’s partner dropped down to a knee. Another is a circus clown colleague—his older brother has been with the same woman for well over 15 years and the timing fit. The third is a television producer who I knew back in the age of the dinosaurs, when we both worked on the same network show. It’s her daughter whose ring finger now has a sparkly stone.
Thinking back, my husband’s middle child—married for about a dozen years and now mom to four kiddos—posed with her then-new fiancé, twinkling Christmas tree right behind them, shortly after receiving her proposal in Arizona.
When I reminded the Hubster of this, he said that he had also asked his late wife to marry him at Christmastime.
I hadn’t known the whole story, but now I’ve found out that he was still in college, and had finally paid off the simple diamond ring purchased on layaway for $20 per week. The solitaire diamond was in his suit pocket when he popped the question on Christmas Eve, parked at a church lot in Ohio just prior to a midnight service.
Obviously, I’ve missed the boat when it comes to knowing much about this decades-long tradition.
However, and thanks to some internet sleuthing, I’ve since learned that asking for someone’s hand in December is way more common than I had thought.
In fact, according to a 2017 Washington Post piece, wedding experts and social media sites affirm that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the most popular days of the year to pop the question.
So, and no surprise here, Googling “why is getting engaged during the holidays a thing” brings a surplus of articles that show December engagements to be a virtual industry in itself. Included is Why Christmas Is The Most Wonderful Time to Get Engaged!, Why the Holidays are the Best Time to Get Engaged and Why is Christmas Such A Popular Time To Propose?
The latter headline is from Diamond Rocks, a United Kingdom website that also informed me that over 100,000 engagements occur during the Christmas season on the other side of the pond. Breaking that number further down, a full 40 percent happened between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day in 2020, likely the last time this sort of survey was done.
Diamond Rocks goes on to say that these December engagements make sense since it’s a time when lots of family and friends get together, as well as the fact that “people are in high spirits, feeling festive and willing to take time to reflect on the year that has passed.”
From the same Washington Post piece quoted earlier, jeweler Matthew Rosenheim gives similar reasons. “It’s a special, emotional time, he says. “People are around family, and they want to share those special moments when there’s time to enjoy it without some of the pressures of day-to-day life.”
I’ll add one more thought.
Christmas Day falls only a week before the New Year begins. Typically, then, the end of the year is both a season for joy and a season for reflection. With the latter, that might mean changing gears in the upcoming year.
When it comes to love, this could include who we’ve chosen to leave behind, as well as who we want to take with us.
Still, every engagement, no matter when, where or how it happens, should come down to only this: the surety to take that bold and scary leap of faith.
Oh, and one more thing.
Before saying yes, make sure you love that person back as fiercely as he or she loves you.
Happy holidays!
But another December custom might not be getting the attention it deserves.
Getting engaged.
In the last week, and just in my not-all-that-large social media circus tent, I’ve learned of 1-2-3 marriage proposals.
All took place in different states, either on Christmas Day or right before. One is a friend whose daughter’s partner dropped down to a knee. Another is a circus clown colleague—his older brother has been with the same woman for well over 15 years and the timing fit. The third is a television producer who I knew back in the age of the dinosaurs, when we both worked on the same network show. It’s her daughter whose ring finger now has a sparkly stone.
Thinking back, my husband’s middle child—married for about a dozen years and now mom to four kiddos—posed with her then-new fiancé, twinkling Christmas tree right behind them, shortly after receiving her proposal in Arizona.
When I reminded the Hubster of this, he said that he had also asked his late wife to marry him at Christmastime.
I hadn’t known the whole story, but now I’ve found out that he was still in college, and had finally paid off the simple diamond ring purchased on layaway for $20 per week. The solitaire diamond was in his suit pocket when he popped the question on Christmas Eve, parked at a church lot in Ohio just prior to a midnight service.
Obviously, I’ve missed the boat when it comes to knowing much about this decades-long tradition.
However, and thanks to some internet sleuthing, I’ve since learned that asking for someone’s hand in December is way more common than I had thought.
In fact, according to a 2017 Washington Post piece, wedding experts and social media sites affirm that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the most popular days of the year to pop the question.
So, and no surprise here, Googling “why is getting engaged during the holidays a thing” brings a surplus of articles that show December engagements to be a virtual industry in itself. Included is Why Christmas Is The Most Wonderful Time to Get Engaged!, Why the Holidays are the Best Time to Get Engaged and Why is Christmas Such A Popular Time To Propose?
The latter headline is from Diamond Rocks, a United Kingdom website that also informed me that over 100,000 engagements occur during the Christmas season on the other side of the pond. Breaking that number further down, a full 40 percent happened between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day in 2020, likely the last time this sort of survey was done.
Diamond Rocks goes on to say that these December engagements make sense since it’s a time when lots of family and friends get together, as well as the fact that “people are in high spirits, feeling festive and willing to take time to reflect on the year that has passed.”
From the same Washington Post piece quoted earlier, jeweler Matthew Rosenheim gives similar reasons. “It’s a special, emotional time, he says. “People are around family, and they want to share those special moments when there’s time to enjoy it without some of the pressures of day-to-day life.”
I’ll add one more thought.
Christmas Day falls only a week before the New Year begins. Typically, then, the end of the year is both a season for joy and a season for reflection. With the latter, that might mean changing gears in the upcoming year.
When it comes to love, this could include who we’ve chosen to leave behind, as well as who we want to take with us.
Still, every engagement, no matter when, where or how it happens, should come down to only this: the surety to take that bold and scary leap of faith.
Oh, and one more thing.
Before saying yes, make sure you love that person back as fiercely as he or she loves you.
Happy holidays!
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