When Christmas Comes Down

 

When Christmas Comes Down

 

by Alice Jane-Marie Massa

 

 

One month ago today was Christmas.  No, do not worry:  all of my Christmas decorations are still festively placed around my townhouse.  Unlike my mother who held tight to her belief or tradition that all holiday decorations had to come down and be put away on New Year’s Day (What a way to ruin the first day of a new year!), I, on the Frozen Tundra, prefer to continue to enjoy my Christmas decorations until … well, the end of February.  Nevertheless, I am pondering a change for this year:  I may take down all of my Christmas decorations at the end of January.  On the other hand, maybe, I should wait until February 28 because my 2016 Christmas tree made a late appearance on the winter scene.

 

During the televised Midnight Mass of that extremely early morning of Christmas, I was, as usual, still putting up a few more decorations for the holidays.  Additionally, this Christmas of 2016, I was putting the final couple of ornaments on my tabletop, artificial tree when it began to fall!  Fortunately, I was right there and steadied the small tree so that it rested at a precarious angle.  At this chosen angle, the angel was a bit askew:  perhaps, she was trying to take flight during my channel-surfing between Midnight Masses with Pope Francis, Cardinal Dolan (Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City), and Archbishop Listecki (Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Milwaukee).  The noted gold-winged angel has been reliable for many years on my Wisconsin trees; but she was obviously not doing her duty on December 25, 2016.  After a few attempts to right the tree and steady it, something was still awry with the unusual base of the tree–if not the aging angel.  Thus, around 12:30 a.m., I decided that I must take down this green Christmas tree and put up the only alternative which I have–a “winter white” Christmas tree, which, through the years since its purchase in 1992 or 1993, has turned a shade of beige (although a friend later told me that tree #2 appears more of a gold hue–undoubtedly, due to the number of gold ornaments and gold bows, –not to mention the gold angel about whom I still have some questions).

 

While many young parents were preparing for Santa’s visit, I was removing all the ornaments, bows, strand of bells, and strand of knitted mittens–and of course, the sprightly angel–from my green tree, purchased in 1991, the year I moved to Milwaukee.  With Midnight Mass on the living room’s small television and the small television upstairs, I promenaded up the stairs (one stair to the entryway, four to the middle level, an fourteen to the upper level) as I held my defrocked Christmas tree.

 

Once again, I had to get up on a wooden chair,  stretch to the maximum so that I could reach the top shelf of my larger closet, take down a few extra items to clear the way for taking down the large box where the beige/gold tree was waiting.  During the majority of my Milwaukee years, I decorated both trees–green and winter white; however, for the past couple of years, I have begun to minimize my holiday decor a bit.  After promenading back down all of the stairs with the vertical box, I decided that the white Christmas tree skirt just would not do with the beiging tree; so, I placed an old red tree skirt over the white which served as a contrasting trim to the red.  With a swoosh, the four-foot tree slid out of the original box.  I promptly placed the tree on my round table in the living room.  With the Pope, Archbishop, or Cardinal in the background, I began again to decorate my Christmas tree.  Yes, I did place the gold angel atop the beige tree–perhaps, she had something to do with turning this old tree gold!  Evidently, this angel was working in her mysterious ways.  All was well:  the tree stood straight and fairly tall.  Fortunately, the Christmas tree is still standing and should continue to grace my townhouse for at least another week–or month–along with all of my other old and relatively new decorations.

 

Snow is predicted.  So, who is ready to decorate with pastel flowers and springy things?  Oh, I am just not ready for Christmas to come down yet because the festive decorations and manger set in my house give me an uplifting feeling during these dark gray and persistently gray days of January.  I am all for keeping the halls and walls decked with holly and other such holiday decor for a while longer.  I have made my decision:  I will let the snowflakes vote!  With more snowflake votes will come more days of my Christmas decorations staying right where they are for all to see and enjoy.

 

Did I mention that I am still listening to Christmas music?

 

Happy One-Month-After-Christmas Day!

Alice and Willow

 

January 25, 2017, Wednesday

 

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