Happy New Year – Time To Take Down Christmas
Except for the time during my second marriage, I am probably one of many who has Christmas stuff up the shortest amount of time. While I am flexible with putting up, perhaps a week or two before, I am firm, January 1st is more than just Happy New Year to me, it is take down the Christmas stuff. Only retailers are quicker than me to move on to the next holiday period. Stores are already decorated with Valentine’s Day candies and toys.
In full disclosure, I have many friends who keep their Christmas things up through January, and a good percentage of those who would keep them up year round if they could. There is a legitimate thought by professionals, that those who struggle with the end of the Christmas holiday season, might just benefit from keeping a tree up year round. Now I want to be clear. I do not support this theory at all, in fact, I think it does more harm than good. But that is just me.
The feeling is, using an artificial tree, decorating the tree with whatever current holiday season is approaching. Again, in full disclosure, I am speaking from personal experience. It was not my choice, but one of my two former spouses was given this idea. We would have an Valentine’s tree, an Easter tree, a 4th of July tree, and of course the annual Christmas tree. While pleasant to look at, I could not get around the fact, it was a Christmas tree, and IT WAS NOT CHRISTMAS! Not even close.
To help encourage me, and not to be outdone, my favorite time of year, Halloween, there would be a Halloween tree. Uh-oh, my shell is beginning to crack. With a huge skull with glowing red eyes up at the top of the tree where an angel would be sitting next… it… was… kind of… cool. Ugh, no, it cannot be. I must not fall for it. Christmas trees only get put up for Christmas. I don’t care if you want to decorate in holiday wall paper and matching pajamas, NO CHRISTMAS TREES EXCEPT AT CHRISTMAS! Seriously, how is looking at a Christmas tree decorated with Easter eggs supposed to keep your spirits up thinking about 3 months ago?
There is a reason we have a calendar. So that we can look forward to, and enjoy the various seasons and holidays. Hanging on to a Christmas tree and pretending it is something else is no different than me dressing up as someone famous, it is still going to be me underneath the mask.
January 1, my tree comes down, in one fourth the time it takes to put up. And I will see it again later this year, but not less than eleven months from now. I have Halloween to get through first.
Paul's Heart 