Putting Christmas Away

I understand people who leave their Christmas decorations up until Valentine's Day. Or longer.

Putting Christmas decorations up is full of excitement and nostalgia and anticipation. Each decoration, unwrapped and carefully placed, seems to hold both memory and hope as we look back over our favorite holidays and look forward to adding another Christmas to our life story.

On the other hand, taking the decorations down can't help but bring to mind, since no holiday ever really meets our full and lofty expectations, a sense of loss at what is over and will never be again. The memories held by each item, wrapped and put away for the year, are exceedingly raw without excitement and anticipation as a buffer.

Putting the Christmas decorations away is, quite literally, putting hopes, memories and dreams in a box. It's a painful thing to do. But it is also a good reminder that nostalgia for the past, hopes for what can never be and dreams that rely on Christmas magic to make them come true probably should be left in boxes for most of the year.

And to be honest, once the work of taking Christmas down is over, there is a relief. The house feels comfortable; the pressure to create a perfect moment is over; a new year holds both promise and challenge.

Who knows what the new year will bring? Hard work? Yes. Losses? For sure. Will we be more than ready to bring out that box of memories and nostalgia next December? Absolutely. Will that box do us much good right now? Probably not.