Last week I was listening to a Christian radio program when the host of the show asked the radio audience, “Is your Christmas tree still up?” He and his co-host went on to discuss when the appropriate time is to take down the tree. He also went on to confess that his tree was still up.
Many leave their trees up until the New Year and some do not take theirs down before Jan. 6. That is, of course, the day known as Epiphany. It is also, as the song says, the 12th day of Christmas. A centuries old tradition believed it to be an inauspicious beginning to the year to take down Christmas decorations before Epiphany Eve.
When I heard the question by the radio host, we were safely beyond the New Year or the 12th day of Christmas. I think it was Feb. 19. That would have been almost two months after Christmas Day. Amazingly, quiet a few listeners called in to say, “Yes. My tree is still up.” Some even said that they leave theirs up all year long. We have a tree in the fellowship hall of our church that stays up year-round, but I hesitate to call it a Christmas tree. Okay, it is a Christmas tree for a couple of months. During those months it has Christmas decorations on it. During the other seasons or holidays of the year, the decorations are changed and it becomes an Easter tree, an Independence Day tree or a Thanksgiving tree.
Some have said they don’t undecorate their tree but just move it out of sight. Some cover it and store it in the attic or in a shed or garage with all the decorations kept in place. The following Christmas, they simply uncover it and bring it back in. Hey, sounds like an easy way to save ourselves time, work and money. That reminds me of a couple of occasions when I was a boy. I decided rather than undress for bed I would just sleep in my clothes and be ready to roll out of bed and go the next morning. When Mama said, “Your clothes look like you slept in them,” and I answered, “That’s because I did,” my brilliant plan quickly came unraveled. I also had to unravel my outfit and put on a clean one.
When I was growing up, our tree never stayed up past the New Year. I think Mama believed if it stayed in the house past the New Year that the New Year wouldn’t come. Actually, I believe she was afraid if it stayed up too long, that our house might not stay up long because it might burn down. You see, we always had a live tree. It was usually a cedar that we had gone out into our woods and cut. We also had a live fire in a coal heater. When that live tree became a dead tree, that along with our live fire was a dangerous combination. So, we cut down our tree and brought it in a few days before Christmas, and it usually came back down the day after Christmas.
At some point in the year, we become closer to the next Christmas than we are to the last one. When that becomes the case, if your tree is still up, you don’t have to say, “I haven’t taken my tree down yet.” You could just say, “I already have my Christmas tree up.” Hey, if the stores keep moving the start of the season back, you’ll be right on time! Have a Merry March!
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com.
