It’s true, I still like Christmas.

Yes, I know. Walmart has tried to ruin it with their Halloween-week holiday decorations, and Christmas music over the PA system before Thanksgiving. But Christmas is still nice.

People are nicer to each other this time of year. Even insurance companies often reach fairer settlements for people prior to Dec. 25 (after Christmas, back to the normal “Get away from them apples” approach).

A lady down the street delivers little glass bowls with tiny leaves, berries and moss inside of them to neighbors on the street. Kind.

Guys in business wear ties with little reindeer on them, or little candy canes, or little Santa Clauses, or colored little tree bulbs (not just me!). “If you can’t wear these in December, when can you wear them?” one guy says to everybody who compliments his neckwear. (And note to my kids LOTS of people compliment people who wear these ties. LOTS!).

Some people still send Christmas cards. Millenials don’t. I understand. But I still believe it when I get cards from people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s whose cards say, “Wishing you peace and happiness during this Christmas season, and the year ahead.” This is the generation that drops off chocolate chip cookies in little wicker baskets when your family has a baby, or an apple cake with rains, and white frosting. The cards are equally gooey.

People Scotch tape Christmas cards onto beams in their house over entry ways to rooms, or put them on mantel pieces, or on refrigerators. You walk into their house. You understand, “These people have friends who remember them.”

People on exit and access ramps in Hartford, Ct., let you cut in front of them to get onto I-280. They NEVER do that the other 11 months.

People at Hannaford see you in line with just a half-gallon of milk, and four bananas, and say, “Here, go ahead of me, please. I’ve got a lot of stuff.” You at first say, no, no, that’s OK, but, then you remember, you are a Very Busy Suburban Yuppie, have places to go and appointments to keep. You say, “Oh…thank you,” and barge ahead.

This time of year, your car CD player can feature Bing Crosby, Cyndi Lauper, Tony Bennett, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, and Irish punk rockers The Pogues, and people are not shocked.

People can be at your house on Thanksgiving night, or the next day, and see you pop “It’s A Wonderful Life” into the DVD player. And drop by in mid-December, and see, again, Jimmy Stewart on the TV screen saying, “Well, my father cared about PEOPLE, Mr. Potter. And that’s a lot more than I can say for you…”, and be in your office the day before Christmas, and see a VCR propped up on a side table, with a screen displaying a roomful of people with a Western Union messenger, crying out, breathlessly, “A cable from Sam Wainwright in England…STOP…My office instructed

to cable $25,000 to you. STOP…Merry Christmas, and Hee Haw,” and not think anything of it.

Adults watch the same videos year after year after year – and will again next year: “Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” “National Lampoon Christmas Vacation,” “The Christmas Carol,” “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas,” “White Christmas,” and “Saturday Night Live Christmas Show Highlights” (sorry!).

People buy little overpriced items near the cash registers for friends.

People give, and eat, things they would not ordinarily put in their mouths – ribbon candy, rum cake, egg nog with secret ingredients, chocolate cherries.

People are nicer this time of year. We shouldn’t require Christmas to be better human beings. But, I guess, whatever it takes.

Merry Christmas.

Dan Warren is a Scarborough trial lawyer. He can be reached by private Facebook message at the Jones & Warren Attorneys at Law page, or by email at jonesandwarren@gmail.com.