Just how long should a Christmas tree be left up? Shortly after New Year’s Day would be plenty for me. But not this year. My partner Sheila wanted it until the end of January. This tree was on our front porch, a masquerader of a typical one. I call it our Charlie Brown tree; so sad looking, somewhat droopy with a few branches missing and the spine twisted like an arc. Despite its mangled peak, a star remained attached with the help of much tape, almost as if it was meant to be. I must admit though, it was nicely decorated with coloured balls, tinsel and silver garlands.
I surveyed others to see how long they left theirs up. One said, “Christmas lights are for Christmas. The moment Santa and his reindeer exit you should take yours down.” I said, “I have no choice in the matter.” On the other hand, I read this post on Facebook: “I hate the dark cold months of January and February. Therefore, I plan to leave my holiday lights up until March and use them to ward off the winter gloom.”
I recall Christmastime in Toronto and the annual tradition of my Ex. The tree was up and decorated no later than the first of November. One day a colleague from work dropped by. He shook his head in amazement and said, “I thought I was in Vegas.” On December 26th, it all came down and put away. I was always out of synchronization with that schedule.
As January dragged on into February, my hints to put the tree away were falling on deaf ears. Sheila decided to redecorate it to epitomize a Valentine’s tree and that was that. So now this Christmas tree on the porch morphed into one personified with various shapes of hearts, both glittery and plain, and topped with red garlands. I wonder what St. Augustus would say? Hopefully I won’t be asked about it as I don’t know what to say either. I heard one time that a family was ordered to remove the lights from their veranda due to international regulations about the colour of lights and where they may be displayed. I considered even drawing a curtain across the tree to hide them late at night!
While we observed Valentine’s Day a little differently this year, students of a Delhi college in India celebrated in their own unique manner. Some students had a weird ritual for Valentine’s Day that they followed every year. The single guys worship a Virgin Tree, which they call Damdami Mai. They then choose an actress followed up by a puja (an act of worship) conducted at the tree on the campus. This bizarre ritual is followed so the virgin boys might lose their virginity, as it is believed that they will find a suitable partner within six months and lose their virginity within a year from the day of the puja. As told to the Times of India, “The students chose Disha Patani as their deity goddess. Like always, condoms will be used to decorate the Virgin Tree.” Man, I hope we never reach that state of desperation in Whitewater!
Valentine’s Day came and went and now on a roll she was determined to have a St. Paddy’s tree. I just threw up my hands! The tree became jam-packed with varied sizes of green shamrocks, hanging top-hats with smoking pipes and green garlands. Too much! I started to leave and enter my house by the back door. It was late in March and the tree was still in the same situation.
Unthinkable! As I was started to remove decorations, she said, “Good, replace them with these.” I was stunned. The tree was to become an Easter one. This time it was loaded with pale shades of different sizes of Easter eggs, bunny’s and coloured garlands. I was not comfortable with this at all. For a touch of good measure Sheila hung the larger on a crabapple tree at the side of the house. The only consolation was that they couldn’t be lighted.
Finally, it was May. I started packing that tree for all occasions when I heard a voice behind me say, “What about your birthday in July?” I pretended I didn’t hear that one.
