I’m one of those people who puts the christmas tree and decorations and outdoor lights up the weekend after Thanksgiving. For me, it’s the weeks leading up to the holiday itself that speak of “the Holiday Season”. It’s the anticipation of the family gatherings and the giving of gifts that were chosen with love, the preparation and consuming of all those traditional foods that I cherish most.
The day AFTER Christmas?… it’s over. I’ve already put away the stockings and taken down the holiday cards taped to a wall in the kitchen. The – Dear Santa, I can explain – kind of pillows I have tossed around the house are bagged and sitting on the cellar stairs waiting to be shelved. All gifts have been put away and clothes that are too worn or too small (for various reasons, not just youthful growth)… are bagged or thrown out, replaced by the new stuff that was under the tree. All extra Christmas Candy and most of the leftover cookies were thrown out yesterday and I’m staring at that Christmas tree, trying to hold off until New Years. I do love the look of an evening house with soft Christmas tree lights to illuminate a room –
My neighbor across the street, an amazing woman of 93 years… begins her decorating on Christmas Eve. For the month of January she will enjoy her festive home and water the tree in her living room. When my mother was very young, my grandparents also brought the tree in and decorated it on Christmas Eve after their three children were in bed. I know that by the time I was born my grandmother put up the tree weeks before Christmas… but I’m curious as to when the majority of people begin their decking of halls, and then pack it away… what say you?