Celebrating the seasons by Angela Rieck

I’m in the attic gathering my Halloween and fall decorations. Earlier today, I surveyed the pumpkins for sale at the markets. I began to wonder…is this the year that I stop decorating?

There are many reasons for ending holiday decorations, the kids are living their lives, the large holiday parties are no more. It is a hassle to bring decorations down from the attic, only to repack them and bring them back up. Both are treacherous events since I have one of those pull-down stairs to the attic. Carrying boxes down and bringing them back up is not for the faint of heart. Then there are the outside decorations. Each pumpkin I buy eventually becomes squirrel food. Putting up the lights requires a ladder, another potentially dangerous obstacle. And for what? Will anyone miss it if I don’t put up decorations? The world will go on, and probably few would notice or care.

In the past, my husband and I used to entertain frequently with sparkling holiday parties and other events. Our daughter celebrated her birthday, Hannukah, and Christmas the same month. Our house was alive that month, with lights and candles, Christmas trees, Hannukah candles, festive greenery, and twinkling lights. Lots and lots of lights. My husband decorated the outside, I took care of the inside. And our daughter decorated the tree and the house with me. We baked and baked and baked. And our house smelled of pine and cinnamon and vanilla. At Halloween, there were the costumes, trick-or-treaters, and one night filled with candy that was soon spread all over the rug, sorted into piles.

So I sit here in the attic, with the stacks of fake pumpkins, lights, and cute scary pottery. What should I do?

Then I get more pensive, maybe this is the year that I also stop giving out candy to trick or treaters. Certainly, the children, loaded with candy from other homes probably wouldn’t miss it. It is often cold outside while waiting for the children to help themselves. I eat a lot of the candy anyway.

There are many practical and safety reasons that I can think of not to do this. 

Then I wonder if I stop doing these decorations, will I stop Christmas too? And what about my annual Halloween party where we get together to fill the children’s bags with lots and lots of candy. 

Then I realize that I am asking the wrong questions. There are many reasons not to do this, but a very good reason to do it. When I start using logic and practicality over emotion, the joyous part of me dies a little. These decorations are meant to keep memories alive, and be open to creating new ones. They represent a desire to celebrate a season, even if it has a few inconveniences. It says that I am living in the now. I can decide to scale it back a little bit, that can be a nod to my age, but I am not giving up on the anticipation, the joys of changing seasons, the laughter of children, and the warm embrace of friends and family. The decorations are a metaphor for my memories, my present and future. 

And I know these lights as modest as they are, bring someone a momentary smile.

Memories are not recreated, not replaced, but added to. Christmas is no longer the smells of the Northeast or glistening lights in the snow. Instead, it is now in Key West, where Christmas becomes humorous displays of lights and figurines, mocking the absence of snow and celebrating the tropical paradise. I join friends for drinks before we set out on bicycles to view the decorations. My daughter and her husband don’t arrive until after Christmas, so Christmas is celebrated on a different day. It is a different Christmas, but it is today’s Christmas.

So, this year finds me bringing down all of the decorations, putting them up, and hosting yet another Halloween party, ready to add new memories.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.