Monday, 1/14

Shouldn’t they be down by now?

Now that we have enough snow here in the city of Marquette, I was walking to the Fit Strip over the weekend to try out the new cross country ski boots I received for my birthday when I noticed something that caught my attention. It was weird; in the seven or eight blocks I had to walk I came across not one, not two, but three houses where not only did they have their Christmas tree still up in their living room window, but they had the lights on their Christmas tree turned on, almost three weeks after the holiday.

I think we’ve established in here, quite a few times, that I’m not an acceptable indicator of what’s normal. I think we’ve established in here quite a few times that what I consider to be usual behavior is anything but usual. But when even I look at Christmas trees still up and lit in the middle of January, I’m thinking that’s a pretty good indication that something’s out of the ordinary.

I like a Christmas tree as much as the next person. I like looking at the lights, and I like the seasonal feeling that a Christmas tree can bring. After all, when you see a Christmas tree, you know that the holiday’s just around the corner. You know that you’ll soon be getting together with family and friends. You know that you’ll soon enjoy a couple of days off. And you know that you’re about to embark on a very special time of the year.

However, when you leave your Christmas tree up and lit for an extended period of time after the holidays are over, after the new year has been rung in, and after your life has gotten back to its normal routine, you’re no longer in that special time of the year. And it seems to me that if you leave your tree up & lit; well, that just seems to rob it of its “specialness”, if that’s indeed a word and if that word makes any sense.

Now, I know different people have different traditions, and maybe these three homes belong to people who’ve always left their trees up & lit for an extra three or four weeks. Maybe that means something to them; maybe the “specialness” of the holiday season is enhanced by leaving the tree up and lit until mid-January, or Valentine’s Day, or whenever it comes down. And maybe the same applies to people who leave their outdoor Christmas lights up & lit year round. Maybe, for them, the holidays should be celebrated in the cold of January, the greening of April, and the heat of July.

Maybe I’m just weird that way.

I’d be curious to know when you take your decorations down. After all, like I said, I’m not always the best indicator as to what’s “normal” and what’s not. But it just seemed strange, three weeks after Christmas is over and a few weeks into the middle of January, to see lit Christmas trees in people’s windows. It really was.

(jim@wmqt.com)