The Twelfth Day

When my mother was a young girl,  Santa brought and decorated the tree on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day marked, as is traditional, the First Day of Christmas.  You know, the same one when your true love is supposed to deliver your partridge?!  Continuing that tradition, the 12th day of Christmas, January 5th was the  day our holiday decorations were taken down when I was growing up.

Nowadays it's popular to begin the  Christmas decorating process the Friday following Thanksgiving. And even that might seem late to you if you set foot into a retail store any day after Halloween.

The early onset of Christmas decorating is as disconcerting to me as the early demise of the decorations.  I don't believe I am the only one who thinks that  seeing a tree curbside or a house unadorned of its wreaths and lights on December 26th or 27th is unreasonable.

Full disclosure, we took down our decorations on January 2nd this year.  And when I say "took down" I mean transitioned the decorations, from their previous places of honor, to our dining room table, where they are sure to rest until the end of the month.  Not the tree or the wreath of course, which made their way to the compost pile, but the candles, artificial garland, advent wreath, etc.

I guess that was my bowing to peer pressure and, no doubt, to convenience  since more hands were at home to help with the "un-decorating."

Perhaps someday I'll confidently leave our decorations up, inside and out, through January 5th.  And I won't anticipate or fear the suspect glances and retribution of my neighbors.

And drummers drumming?  I'll be waiting for them.