A friend recently commented on why it was so long between my
last posting and my current one. I answered, “I guess I wasn’t inspired.” I realize how idiotic that response
was. Over 365 days, and nothing inspired me. Obviously, I have not been paying
attention, but recently I have noticed something …Why on Earth are Christmas
decorations still up?
I will explain how it works at our house (as I am charge of
all things Christmas). The lights go up whenever there is a warm weather
opportunity within a few weeks of Thanksgiving. They do NOT get plugged in
until the official start of the holiday, the day after Thanksgiving (don’t even
get me started about stores and people that fudge that start date). Our
lights are proudly displayed throughout the holiday season, which ends the day
after New Year’s, at which point the plug is pulled. I will grant some leeway
for the white lights if it is: 1) cold, and 2) snowy. Once the snow and cold
moderate, turn off the lights, thank-you.
I think there are homes in Edina that must be competing for how long they can leave their lights up. Seriously, it is a land that time has
forgotten; you would swear Christmas is just around the corner, with so many light
displays still burning brightly. I made a snide comment last week and my son
immediately defended the ones with “white lights” as being OK in the winter. No, unless you are serving
dinners on your patio, just no. Lights are wrong when approaching April. I don’t even like the red ones for
Valentine’s Day or the green ones for St Patrick’s Day. Lights are for Christmas.
The reason they are pretty during the holidays is because they are special, as
in DOESN’T HAPPEN OFTEN. If we keep lights up until spring and beyond, then it
isn’t special at Christmas. I blame these selfish, light hoarders for ruining
the “Christmas Spirit” for the rest of us.
It isn’t as if we have had a winter like LAST year. Last
year, I understood, everyone understood, you would have to have been from Mars
(or Florida) to not have understood. I couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to
step foot outside in the God-awful, frozen tundra. So no, I don’t really fault anyone for leaving them up, but then
simply unplug them, how difficult is that? When illuminated in March, I can
only conclude that these people are lazy. Don’t they see them? Aren’t they
embarrassed?
As if the lights aren’t enough, I have noticed two other
holiday displays still in place as recently as today, and in my own city! One, a display of wooden cutouts of
Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a few other figures, life size no less, and the other
is another festive garland of fake pine boughs and festively bright, red bows
adorning a charming picket fence spanning a few hundred feet. Both of these
holiday trimmings took a great deal of effort to install (more than I would
expend), so clearly, these people have had periods where they have experienced
bursts of energy. Why have they not noticed what month it is, and if they are
aware that St. Patrick’s Day is next week, why are the adornments still adorning?
I know that it is none of my business, and I will not say a thing to them, write them a discrete note, look up city statutes, or even gift them with one of the many calendars I received from Christmas. I will simply pass by, bite my tongue, and maybe silently ask St. Lawrence (patron saint of the lazy) to give them a nudge.
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