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​I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of Christmas.

I like everything about it.

The lights, the music, the films and special TV shows, the dark nights and the food. I can spend many a happy evening curled up with a festive candle burning, eating chestnuts and listening to classic songs.

The season goes too fast for my liking, and that’s why I’m a big fan of Christmas in July!

The idea of Christmas in July dates back as far as 1892, to a French opera named Werther, and the idea had other press attention afterwards, but it first received true national attention in the US with the 1940 release of Christmas in July.

The film is a comedy involving a man fooled into believing he has won $25,000 (I’m told by Google that this translates into around half a million dollars in today’s money!!).

It was a cute idea that caught on, with organisations like the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington D.C and the U.S. Post Office becoming involved and adopting similar celebrations.

As early. as the 1950s, American advertisers had recognised the power of the event and started using Christmas in July as a theme for marketing campaigns and summer sales.

For people in the Southern Hemisphere, where regular Christmas falls in their summer, the idea of Christmas in July as well as the full December celebration is a good way of enjoying the occasion with the more chilly temperatures that many of us associate with the holiday. I’ve always imagined that it must be quite odd to celebrate Christmas on a sunny day!

In recent times, Christmas in July has really caught on. If you’re a fan of Hallmark movies, you’ll no doubt be excited about the new Christmas movies they’re releasing this month! Christmas Camp and A Merry Christmas Match should help build the excitement for the whopping 40 new titles that Hallmark have promised for the 2019 Christmas season!

For me, this occasion is a chance for me to light a festive candle (I love cinnamon scents in particular), pour a warm mug of mocha, and read a Christmas themed cozy mystery. There’s something indulgent about staying indoors and reading when the sun’s out, especially here in England where the sunny days can be a little rare.

I’ve been excited to see that my own Christmas themed cozy mystery book, The Santa Claus of Mystic Springs, is really popular at the moment. Noticing that trend gave me the idea to write this post as I realised that lots of people are looking forward to a summer excuse to read festive books.

I also have a festive short story included in the Sleigh Bells & Sleuthing anthology, with all proceeds going to Good Fortune Farm Refuge, a no kill animal shelter. My story in this anthology is The Robbery of Mystic Springs, a prequel to my Mystic Springs series that sees a young Connie recovering from having her heart broken when she finds herself to be the only person who believes her rat-bag of an ex-boyfriend is innocent of robbery.

I’d love to hear about your own favourite Christmas themed cozy mysteries. Why don’t you stop on by in my private Reader Group and join the conversation?

Until then,

Mona