Taking Down the Decoration

Although it's not quite traditional, I am in the habit of taking down the Christmas decoration just before leaving the house for the final time on the 31st of December. This therefore symbolises the passing of the year, and the entry to a new year with a clean slate. Plus, it's quick and easy to do so.

You'll note that I said decoration, singular.

For the past several years, since I moved out of home actually, it has been my approach that I have a single decoration at Christmas. This is just enough to set the festive scene, without requiring any significant amount of effort or planning. Since I'm the only person who lives there, and since I very seldom have guests, this was entirely sufficient, I thought. (I also display those few Christmas cards I receive appropriately, from whenever I receive them until the 31st.)

Lady Chocolat has made it clear that this approach to Christmas is not going to survive the wedding. And my initial compromise position, that we could perhaps have a decoration each was met with a Look. (I thought it was entirely reasonable, to be honest. I mean, that represents an increase in festive cheer by a full 100%, which is quite a lot, really.)

In truth, though, I'm not even remotely bothered by the proliferation of decorations. I'm not actually anti-decoration at all, and nor do I object to festive cheer.

What I object to, and this ties in somewhat to the previous post, is when something that should bring pleasure and joy (in this case Christmas) becomes so bound up in all manner of things that you 'must' do that it all becomes extremely stressful and loses its meaning. Especially if you're only doing these things out of some misplaced sense that you have to do them, and double especially if the only person who is aware of what you've done is yourself.

Basically, I don't like make-work tasks.

If you want to put up loads of decorations, if you enjoy having those decorations, and if you feel they add to the season, then more power to you. Have fun with that. But if, instead, it's actually a job you hate doing, and you only do it "because it's Christmas" and because you've always done it... you're doing it wrong. Trust me, there isn't a minimum number of decorations required for it to be Christmas. Santa doesn't give marks out of ten for tinsel arrangements.

You may now proceed to call me Scrooge in the comments.