OK, I’ve had enough. I can’t stand the Christmas paraphernalia this far after the new year. C’mon, it’s been a darn week and half since the jolly ‘ole elf visited us. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for Christmas. I love the season. I love the decorations, the garland, the lights. I love the wrapped presents under the tree and the star on top. I can’t stand it one day after the new year.
See, I grew up in the South. I’m not really sure how it works in other places. Heck, maybe even in some parts of the South they’re fine with leaving their gear up into the new year. In my circle of trust, you took it down. You better get that stuff down this week and get the house cleaned. We had it down the day after Christmas. We made the first trip to the dumpster that night. We took down the tree, packed it back up in the boxes – tried to figure out how to get all the ornaments back in their little boxes and under the house until the following year. We spent the week before the new year playing with our new toys, riding our bikes – dreading the day we had to go back to school and envying our friends’ toys. We were told it was bad luck to have your stuff up on the 1st. Period. You better have it all down, the house cleaned up and ready to eat your black-eyed peas and your collard greens so you could have good luck for the upcoming year. But you better not have your Christmas stuff still up. That was worse than white after Labor Day (of course, unless you lived in Florida).
I’m driving into the neighborhood tonight – yes, there are trees up, lights, the stupid inflatable Santa in the yard, and people still have their Christmas trees up in their houses — and worse, the lights are on. Yes, I said they’re on. You would think they just left their houses after Christmas – and just haven’t gotten home yet. But, no, they’re still there. They’re in their little houses – maybe still drinking their age old egg nog and singing carols – I’m not so sure – but they’ve got their Christmas stuff up still. The guy across the street – he still has his red, green and blue (yes, blue) lights twisted around the trees in his front-yard. Several of them. Not just one or two. But, like, five.
OK, I’m fine with starting Christmas a little earlier. I can understand why the malls and stores all start it earlier – given that I’m a capitalist. I understand Christmas is the big end of the year money maker. And, the earlier you get people in to the mindset and ready to buy, the better. I finally got over the drive home from Thanksgiving to see all the Christmas stuff up — and finally even gotten over all the people Christmas shopping during Thanksgiving. I can understand that – it’s about money. But the Christmas stuff at your house after new years? What’s up with that? There is no incentive for it. There is no explanation for it. The new year has started – we’re pretty much all back to work (except Mike Dickerson, who is always skiing in Big Sky this week – you suck) and over the season. We’re all trying to start to live up to our new year’s resolutions – and mostly already failing – but we’re all trying to get over it. I was ready to get back to work the day after Christmas on my long drive back from West Virginia. I was ready to just skip the New Years event altogether. Oh, this year, we even forgot to watch the ball drop while we were watching Superman Returns on Pay Per View — but that’s OK – we just rewound the TiVo and watched it again. Heck, it really didn’t seem much different. But I digress.
OK, if you must leave up your holiday gear through the new year – at least turn the lights off. At least acknowledge that you’re too lazy to pull it all down – and just let the rest of us get on with life. Please don’t leave the lights on – please take down the stupid looking fake snow globe that sits proudly in your yard that we all laugh at when we drive by. I’m just sick of it already. I want to get on with my new year and I’d like to enjoy trying to do things I committed to doing that I’m already behind on.
And, oh yeah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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