Twelve Nights

In all the hubbub that surrounds preparing for Christmas - and, at times, adjusting to our first winter snow - our family is usually late putting up our Christmas tree... and late taking it down.

This year, Jericho helped me decorate our tree on the 23rd... the day before Christmas Eve. 

In my working days, I usually put it up when our Christmas holidays began and took it down before New Year's Eve  - so as to start the new year with a "tidy" house.

But a few years ago, I discovered the concept of the "12 days of Christmas" - an Anglican Church tradition... (Remember the song, "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree"? On the second day of Christmas..." and so on...)

So now - with so many hours of darkness outdoors - I enjoy the tree's colorful glow for 12 nights. Then it comes down.

There are, of course, no rigid rules about any of this! But having a "traditional reason" for what I do makes me feel less disorganized!