Monday, 11 March 2013
'Tis (Still) the Season
By Susan Gulliford of Hillsborough NJ Journal
It has become de rigueur to complain about how the Christmas holidays are starting earlier and earlier. Well, I have decided to reverse that custom and whine about how the holidays are ending earlier and earlier.
It wasn’t that many years ago that every neighborhood had a house whose lights were still on for Valentine’s Day and there was always the family who didn’t bother to take down their lights at all; they just turned them on around Thanksgiving and stopped lighting them mid-January.
This year, the day after Christmas, I woke up bright and early still basking in the glow of a satisfying Christmas day and couldn’t find any carols playing on the radio. Bummer.
Then, while having my first cup of coffee and admiring our Christmas trees, fireplace decorations and gifts, I looked out the window and noticed the neighbors across the street taking down their lights.
Finally, the last few nights I noticed how dark and depressing the neighborhoods are without all the decorations and I decided to fight this early ending of the holiday season.
Let’s remember that there are Americans who won’t be celebrating Christmas until January 6th, which is the Feast of the Epiphany. And what about the twelve days of Christmas? Can’t we wait for the wise men to arrive?
There is something magical about watching a snowfall through Christmas lights but in this area that doesn’t usually happen anymore until January or February so there is even more to be said for leaving the lights turned on.
Life can be boring enough in mid-winter without us humans making it worse.
Anyway, if in mid-January you are finally taking the decorations off the Christmas tree and you fall off the ladder and need to call the rescue squad, well, you can just turn on the outside Christmas lights to make it easier for them to find the house.
See, I told you it was a good idea to leave them up!
SOMETIME LATER: We took down our outside lights last weekend only because we were having problems with the “twinkle.” Today we are working on taking down the inside decorations.
[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Please read instructions for submitting.]
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
This was the 2nd year out of 3 that I did no decorating, because I was not having any guests, but rather celebrating with my family at one of their homes. I really missed the mini-lights that I usually frame my living room window with and leave up for weeks, because I love them so. Next year I will remember that!
Posted by: Lyn Burnstine | Monday, 11 March 2013 at 01:58 PM
Hello Susan, thank you for your Christmas story! I have twinkle lights around the ceiling of our
sun room. In the cold of winter, I like to turn them on. In July, they still look good!
Posted by: Marcy B. | Monday, 11 March 2013 at 06:20 PM
Hey, I am totally with you on this! Bring on the holiday lights until the end of January at least, that's my feeling. There are just a ton of festivities such as 12th Night and Orthodox Christmas holiday celebrations (that might only be celebrated that way in Western Alaska, so don't anyone get excited) that deserve extended lights on! I agree...let Thanksgiving have its own afterglow. Great post!
Posted by: wearmanyhats | Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 07:04 PM