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Subject: are you spirited, or just lazy?
i think it's safe to say that most people celebrate some sort of holiday once a year. and many people decorate for these holidays, right?
but how long are you supposed to leave the decorations up? there seems to be a fine line between celebration and laziness. which leads me to wonder...
how long do you leave up holiday decorations?
all of our outdoor decorations from xmas are put away. but the xmas tree, on the other hand...well, it's still up. in fact, was never taken down from LAST XMAS...yeah, our tree's been up, with all the ornaments and the star since xmas 2001. ;D i think we definitely crossed the line of celebration into laziness. ;)
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
How about too busy? Last year, our tree was up until March because of the amount of time we volunteer on the robot team in January and February. This year, we didn't put a tree up because we had to have our living room ceiling replaced in mid-December and it was too much of a mess. We kept Christmas lights strung up around the ceiling for almost five years, but that was because we liked how they look. Since the ceiling repair, we've replaced them with soft white lights.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
I get so lazy I notice birthday cards that I didn't bring down from the year before.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
8) 8)Traditionalists put up their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve,and take it down on Twelfth night,or Epiphany.Also Russian Orthodox people celebrate christmas on January 4th,so taking down you r decorations any sooner is pretty rude.Their Twelfth night isn't until 12 days after that.Cheers! :o
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
I can sympathise with the "too busy" reason/excuse.
The first year I was living away from my mom's house, I found myself too busy with working full time and going to college to bother putting up a tree in my tiny little two room apartment. I ended up buying a small, potted, pre-decorated tabletop tree.
My mom on the other hand stores her decorations on the top shelf of a certain closet in her house. It is way too high up for her to reach, and she is in no condition to be climbing up on a chair or ladder. That's my brother's job.
One year, he was either too busy or too lazy to move the boxes into the closet for her. The Christmas decorations were off the tree, and in their boxes, but the boxes were still on the floor underneath the tree. And mom couldn't put the 7-foot-tall artificial tree away by herself, either.
So with Valentine's Day fast approaching, she decorated the tree with hearts and lace. :D February 14th came and went, and St. Patrick's Day was fast approaching. So mom bought a bunch of shamrocks and leprechauns to hang on the tree. At Easter she bought a whole bunch of plastic eggs, attached ribbons and hung them on the tree. ;D
Mom was hoping my brother would get embarassed when his friends came to visit, but no such luck. They thought her creativity was "cool". So for each holiday that came , mom came up with decorations for it to hang on the tree (her Halloween tree was priceless!!!).
This lasted almost three years before the tree finally came down so the landlord could repair some wiring in the wall behind it.
And yes, my brother eventually put the boxes of Christmas decorations away! ::)
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
I used to decorate the weekend of Thanksgivig and keep my stuff up til after New Years Day...this year I had a tree for one week. Did my whole decorating thing, let the guests see it..and it was all down and put up before the 29th of December.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
We haven't had a tree for the past four years. :'( But that is because we have been away from home. This year WE ARE STAYING HOME! I have made sure that everyone knows that so no one can get married, have a baby or die during December this year.
Cat
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
XenaCat, I have a friend whose mom does that every year (decorate the tree for different holidays). She has as long as I've known her (over 20 years).
Ours usually go up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but are down by Jan 12 or we get fined. We have an ordinance in our town that says, barring extreme weather, all outside decorations (except door wreaths) are supposed to be down by then or you get fined $50 for each week until Feb 12, then it goes up to $100 until March 12. If they aren't down by then, the city will take them down and charge you. But, lights can be left up until Mar 12 (if they aren't the icicle type) but cannot be lit after Jan 12.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
I've heard of other towns having an ordinance about taking down holiday decorations, but I've always wondered why?
Is it offensive? If so to who? Are we trying to save electricity? Is it supposed to enforce a certain standard of neatness/beauty? If so, who decides that standard?
I do understand having restrictions on where/when/how to dispose of "real" trees. The average garbage truck cannot handle a whole neighborhood of trees on top of the regular trash pickup. And if the trees are destined to go to a woodchipper to make chips and sawdust for the city, then yeah, all tinsel and ornaments must be off. Such things would clog the machinery.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Quoting:
I've heard of other towns having an ordinance about taking down holiday decorations, but I've always wondered why?
End Quote
Could it be a fire hazard thing? A very old and dried out pine tree is pretty combustible...
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Quoting:
Could it be a fire hazard thing? A very old and dried out pine tree is pretty combustible...
End Quote
Mmmm. Don't think so. Most city/town ordinances only cover outdoor decorations. And one would presume that the trees outdoors are alive, just dormant for the winter. Most of the ordinances I'm familiar with deal with strings of lights, lawn ornaments and such like that.
And they cannot dictate what we do with holiday decorations inside our own homes. (at least, one would hope not. :-/ )
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Strange. Okay, Theory 2
Outdoor decorations aren't "permanent." If they were, you would have higher standards associated with them. For instance, an electrician would have to sign off that the decorations met local safety codes. But, as temporary fixtures, they can be put up for a period of time (say, 30-60 days) without inspection.
Just a guess.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Today I just noticed that our town still have the decorations up-even though they are not turned on. Maybe they ran out of fund to pay the guys to take them down. ??? ::)
Cat
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Quoting:
Strange. Okay, Theory 2
Outdoor decorations aren't "permanent." If they were, you would have higher standards associated with them. For instance, an electrician would have to sign off that the decorations met local safety codes. But, as temporary fixtures, they can be put up for a period of time (say, 30-60 days) without inspection.
Just a guess.
End Quote
By George, I think you've got it!!! :o
At least it sounds logical and reasonable enough.
My city has it's public lights still up on the streetlight's poles and on the trees, Cat. We also are not lighting them up anymore. I noticed they did the same last year, but they eventually came down in the spring. Lack of $$ in the budget is one possibility.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
I have yet to have my own Christmas tree. So far, my parents have decided when we were going to take the decorations down. Pretty much everything was down by early February, except for our pointcetias (I can't spell) which seem to be intent on living.
But if I had my own place, I would probably be lazy in the extreme. My Christmas tree would still be browning in my living room by July.
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Quoting:
pointcetias (I can't spell) which seem to be intent on living.
End Quote
You mean poinsettias, right?
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
We still have our Christmas wreath hanging outside of our door. Not because we want it to be there or too lazy, but because a bird has adopted it.Never seen anything like it but this little bird did not migrate. It stayed all winter long and now there are eggs in it's nest. It built a nest in the wreath, and Mr Who and I didn't have the heart to take it down. Now we are going to be able to see baby birds every time we open our inner door, as the wreath is hanging on a glass door! :D
Subject: Re: are you spirited, or just lazy?
Quoting:
Now we are going to be able to see baby birds every time we open our inner door, as the wreath is hanging on a glass door! :D
End Quote
aw, that should be neat once the eggs hatch. :D