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Clearwater AL

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Whatever happened to the “Week of Christmas” ?

I’m an old man now but I remember 15, 20, 30 years ago the
“Week of Christmas” was from Christmas Day to New Years Day.

During that week two or three evenings we’d visit friends, bring
gifts, have drinks and continue the Christmas Spirit. Friends would
come to our house. It was a busy week.

Back then we’d go to New Year Eve parties and part of it was
Christmas decorations were still up.

Last year we went to large hotel for their New Years celebration…
no Christmas decorations. The next day (New Years Day) we
went to two friends houses… no Christmas decorations.
Last year friends came to visit us that evening and two said,
“How nice… you still have your Christmas Tree up.”

Tonite we went to a nice restaurant (gift card)… no Christmas
decorations.

Goes to my new favorite saying… “Nothing Stays the Same.”
 
Christmas decorations are probably up as long at many places. We always started with the decorations the week of Thanksgiving and now they start at the end of September. As children leave and we age we also are no longer obligated by Santa to put up a tree—it’s a law. Check it out ����.
 
Maybe location dependent? They are still up here including in 2 restaurants I have been to in the last 3 days but also in a shopping center and in the yards of private homes that I have seen

Wonder if it is because we are North and it feels like the winter it is? Or maybe we Bostonians are just traditionalists?
 
It's probably this area and being in the South.

This morning we had to go to Wal-Mart... we noticed only a few houses still
have their decorations up. The many houses that were decorated are now
bare.

Whatever... :)
 
Nikki, you got me thinking... after I came back from Viet Nam I got stationed at
Ft. Devens for six months, November to April, training troops coming from Europe
on their way to Viet Nam. I went home for Christmas 3 days but I remember the
spirit/atmosphere was stronger there.

Yes, Christmas is bigger and longer in your area.

I also remember about that time (1969) your area got hit with a blizzard.
some of the troops from Devens went to areas to shovel sidewalks.

I liked the Boston area but Ayer just off base was a typical military town.

Frank, maybe it's because of the commercialization of Christmas starting
so early now in September in many stores.

Anywhooo... :)
 
Daytona Beach Shores still has Christmas decorations up and so does my condo.

I do remember in the little village in upstate NY where I grew up that holiday celebrations were spaced property. You never saw Thanksgiving decor out until after Halloween and you never saw Christmas decor out until the day after Halloween.

I've never really given much attention to the new year. I didn't drink so going to parties wasn't very appealing and, for me, it has always been just another day. The only thing I kept track of were the lists of top 10 movies, songs, etc. of the year.

I think times change and people are different. There are more extended and mixed families and many kids get passed around from one celebration to the other on holidays.

I'm glad I had good childhood memories of Christmas.

Picture of me on Christmas morning and a postcard my grandmother made of our home.
 

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Kim, don't get ill... Florida ain't the south. Most of the people living in Florida now
are from "Up North".

Floridians now have a unique accent... in the south they call it "Northern."

Being an original from Florida when I moved up to North Carolina I was quickly
and often reminded... "Florida ain't the South."
 
YOU'RE SO RIGHT, AL. !!!


Even at Fort Polk and Leesville, where no snow could fall, people used to keep Christmas going for the week. Diehards would do Xmas all the way through the 12 days ending around the 6th for the Orthodox Xmas.


Partly it's location. Snow is half the reason. But the economy and the national gestalt are changing, too.

Americans are working harder and longer than ever in at least 100 years, but wages haven't improved one iota.
And Americans feel under attack. Not just because of 9/11 and the never-ending GWOT (most ppl don't care), but also the extremists are winning, and we're all encouraged to hate the other side of the political divide.
In short, I think America is depressed.


But at my house--Florida--I still have a giant inflatable red biplane outside. It's Snoopy and that little yellow bird, flying a biplane from the Snoopy and the Red Baron story.
You're right that Florida is not the South.



AL, I lived in Ayer in 59-60. Cold. Skiing out my back door. Tobogganing: I was up front and Dad behind me on the same toboggan. We zoomed down but hit a stump at high speed--sudden stop. Then I saw a couple of GIs in their toboggan go flying airborne exactly over us. But when they hit us, the thump got us moving again. At the bottom of the hill. The GI's got stuck, and my Dad and I went bam! whoosh! right over the top of them! Good times.
 
Al, You're right. The population where I live is very diverse. We have many Europeans and people from all around the world who "Winter" here. Most of them stay around 8 months. We have our wonderful Canadian snowbirds, too.

Just as an example, we play cards on Friday. There are usually about 20-30 people and we pick cards for partners so we get to meet everyone. My partner last week was from India and our opponents were a man from Kentucky and a woman from Egypt (she has been here nearly 40 years.) I love hearing how others celebrate their holidays and holy days.
 
That's a good life, Kim.

As an introvert, I'm quite happy being my myself. If I want company, I go to one of the restaurants where
"my" waitresses have been taking care of me for 6 years.
 
I talked to my neighbor... one reason several have taken their decorations down
early is that we have a weather system headed our way.

Chances of rain tomorrow (New Years Eve) are 60%. Through Thursday the
percentages range from 70% to 90%.

Folks are not wanting to pack up outdoor garland, lights and such wet.

Guess ours will be up until Old Christmas (Jan 6th), hopefully it all will
be dry. :)
 
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Mine go up the first week of December and come down on New Year's Day- never a deviation. We put up a good show of outdoor lights our neighbours have grown to anticipate now. We're the weirdos who still use traditional incandescent lights and hoard bulbs- as stores seem to carry fewer and fewer each year in favour of the LED ones.

Your neighbours are wise, Al. Particularly if they want to maintain good marital relationships come the opening of their outdoor Christmas decorations next year. I once opened a bin of outdoor Christmas lights one year that had been put away damp the year before and it was a GROSS GROSS GROSS fuzzy mildewy mass of cables, corroded lightbulbs and black mold. I left it to the person who put them away wet to deal with. It never happened again...

We have the opposite issue in our neighbourhood. People start decorating after Halloween and many still have their lights up at the end of January. We joke that there must be a huge community of Eastern Orthodox folk here who celebrate the old calendar.
 
That's a good life, Kim.

As an introvert, I'm quite happy being my myself. If I want company, I go to one of the restaurants where
"my" waitresses have been taking care of me for 6 years.

I find myself needing more time alone lately. I love to go to my room early and watch TV, meditate, or listen to music. It helps the pain and keeps me from overdoing it. I lived alone for many years so being alone doesn't bother me.

Mike, you are a very good conversationalist and also a very good listener.
 
This year I had to pay to have our outdoor lights put up. We have icicle lights all around the eaves
of the house. We have a lighted wreath on every window, our deck just about goes all around the
house, the rails have garland and twinkle lights.

Our house is grey, years ago I found a spool of grey cord/wire and I made custom length drop cords
for each wreath, icicle lights and rail lights. Last year when I took it all down I forgot to tag the
cords to who went were like I had before. What a hassle that became, the guy up on the ladder
waiting for me on the ground trying to figure which one he needed and toss it up to him. :)
(We have a two story house.)

It just bothers me so much to pay someone to do what I used to do.
 
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Your decorations sound lovely, Al.

I can so relate to not being able to do it yourself. Christmas was always a big event for me. I'd decorate the house, put up the trees (I had one in my living room and another in my glass porch. I'd have parties and put on a huge Christmas Eve dinner, then another Christmas dinner.

Sometimes I'd have a Christmas party for 30 people and do all the cooking/baking myself. I'm glad I have the memories but it pains me to not be able to do it myself or even want to do it.

I'm sure your wife appreciates seeing all the decorations up, no matter who put them up.
 
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