As I sit in my living room, surrounded by parts of the dismantled Christmas tree, boxes usefully marked 'Xmas Stuff' and decorations which have not yet made it to the living room floor, but still hang from the ceiling by the same precarious strip of tape they were attached by in December, I don't really know where to start. Being a teacher, I often have this problem; there is so much to do, how do I know which to do first?
Yes, I know the decorations should have been down by the 6th and that it is bad luck if they are still up after that. Actually, I have a theory about that...
The start of the year is an opportunity for a fresh start. In fact every day is an opportunity for a fresh start, but this seems to escape many people's notice, as they prefer only to do the 'fresh start' when it is marked on the calendar, which sort of defeats the object of starting fresh and being motivated, if you are waiting for someone else to tell you when to do it, but that aside, Many people like to start afresh on 1st January and so, I think the 'get your decorations down by the 6th' superstition is linked to that, the idea being that to move forward in the right frame of mind, you must pack away the Christmas paraphernalia. It's a way of accepting that Christmas is over for this year.
I, you will be unsurprised to hear, think differently. It is good to keep the decorations up, because those first few days back to work in January can be gloomy. We feel tired after the excitement and hustle and bustle of Christmas and could do with another week off. The house looks bare after the tinsel and garland are packed away. It is somewhat depressing putting all those little tree ornaments back into tissue line shoe boxes. I hate that feeling. Keeping the house looking sparkly lets us hold on to that feeling of fun for a little while longer. We have had a great couple of weeks, putting the Christmas lights on when we know it is not really Christmas any more.
Unfortunately, Larry decided it was time to put it all away. He got the boxes out of the loft and deposited them in the middle of the living room. Now, that I can't live with. I tried to ignore them, but after a week, they are really in the way, so I'm afraid, Christmas really is over in our house now.
Will it still feel so depressing after taking the remaining decorations down and packing them all away? Who knows. It will feel tidy again, though, which I guess is something. Now, where shall I start...?
