The Fifth Day of Christmas

I get a little miffed at seeing Christmas trees tossed at the curb on the day Christmas. We've had holiday merchandise for sale since Labor Day, Christmas Carols playing on the radio the day after Halloween, and Budweiser's Clydesdales marching in the snow while Columbus Day is still on the calendar. For goodness sake, can't we have a real holly jolly Christmas that lasts the entire twelve days?

For many years my own Mom would take down the tree and the other decorations the day after the big day. In fact were she not in Baton Rouge visiting the Cajun clan her tree would already be gathering next year's dust in her garage. Ironically this is the same lady who now entertains friends and family just about every January 6th to mark The Epiphany which is also the true end of Christmas on the church calendar.

The day after Christmas me and Jessie made the trek over to my mother's house to check mail and feed her man-eating parrot. I told Jessie not to be surprised if we ran across a tree dumped along someone's sidewalk since the owner of that tree had decided that the purpose of their evergreen was done. I was surprised that we did not see one tree disposed of on our little adventure! I thought maybe the world is finally stepping back in time for a change and taking a few moments to actually enjoy the spirit of Christmas! Really! Most of us didn't take a break from the shopping, decorating, entertaining, wrapping, cooking, engineering, and cleaning until we put our heads on our pillows late Christmas evening.

By the next day we saw trees everywhere lying along the curbs or at the end of driveways. There were evergreens tossed about like wrapping paper waiting to be hauled to the dump. Green trees still giving their essence that Christmas trees do which is one of the reasons that folks still enjoy live trees for their decorations.

Unfortunately the seasons of the year and even our holiest of holidays are dictated by Sam Walton's inheritors and the rest of the world's corporate executives. Their ultimate goal is to squeeze every single penny out of every possible dollar that we consumers are willing to spend attempting to recreate what those corporate ads on television tell us is the perfect way to enjoy each special time of the year. That's why you can right now get bargain basement prices on Christmas decorations because those same decorations are going to be so passe' this time next year you won't want to use them!

According to Madison Avenue the Christmas season is over. It's time to make way for Valentine cards and candy. In fact old Sam might even throw in an Easter basket or two to help you prepare for the furry critter hopping down the bunny trail.

Christmas Day is "the First Day of Christmas." There are twelve more according to the Judeo-Christian calendar. Can't we open our presents on that first day and use the other days to enjoy the lights, the sounds, the carols, the laughter, the childlike wonder that most of us have lost in the preparation for them? On January 5th we'll take the decorations down and realize our epiphany.

The Epiphany has been awesome those years that I allow God to share it with me. Interestingly it has been those years that my family has taken our time to enjoy all of Christmas: December 25 to January 5. And ironically we have Ben's holiday hospital visits to thank for making this an annual Waddell tradition. If that isn't an epiphany then I guess there isn't any.