Lights

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

- Andy Williams song lyric

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and I’m a real sap for everything the holiday season brings. I love listening to Christmas music and happily play the same six “Holiday Music” cds Mr. Clark made years ago, over and over again.

From November 27^th through January 1^st, I keep the car radio tuned to one of those 24/7 Christmas music stations. And, I never get tired of holiday muzak in elevators, on hold, or in stores.

I still send holiday cards - complete with a cheesy letter and family photo – and, I read with relish the equally cheesy letters and bad family photos the folks I communicate with only once each year send.

I like decorating the tree, and it takes me forever because I savor each memory the ornaments bring – the two “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments, all the ugly yet beloved home-made ornaments the kids made at school, and all of the souvenir ornaments from family trips.

I’m not much of a baker, but Mr. Clark is, so the house is often full of nice aromas this time of year, as Mr. Clark experiments with a recipe he saw in a magazine or found on–line. I am a real sucker for those pine and cinnamon scented candles that keep the house “smelling like Christmas” (as my kids used to say), so when Mr. Clark’s not baking, they are constantly lit.

Each year I spend an inordinate amount of time decorating the house with Christmassy things. Mr. Clark will attest to this, as the annual kick-off to our holiday season is him banging his head on the crawl space beams and yelling, “Do we really need 15 bins of Christmas &%*$?”

My favorite Christmas thing of all, though, is the lights. I love Christmas lights! This probably began when I was little, because my dad was a big light hanger and I remember marveling at the result of his efforts each year. Magical…simply magical…as I imagined Santa flying over and always knowing where to stop because our house was one of the most brightly lit.

Maybe because of the brightness of those holidays past – or maybe because of the magic implied - my taste in holiday lights runs on the tacky side. Sure those tasteful wreaths hung in every window, lit up from spot lights below, are pretty. But, the houses I really admire are the ones with the all-out, really gaudy, super-dooper displays – lights on every eave, tree and bush; manger scenes and blow up characters; candy canes lining the walk; lights draped all along the fence; the more overdone, the better!

After all, if it’s holiday magic we’re after, why stop with a simple, tasteful display?

I also like the small, not-so-well-kept houses gaily festooned with a single light strand – often several bulbs burned out – accented with, maybe a plastic poinsettia, that’s clearly seen more than one year on the porch. There’s something so hopeful about the effort that goes into hanging a single strand of lights over a really ratty, run-down door…It’s like, “Maybe next year will be better?” or, “Hey, Santa, stop here!”

One year, near my house, a tenant draped a long strand of those big, old fashioned, multi-color, outdoor lights along the entire handrail of the long, rickety stairway that led to the attic apartment above an old, clearly-seen-better-days rental house. The same tenant had beautiful fiber-optics trees in both of the front windows of the apartment. It was stunning - such a happy display atop such a dark, sad, decaying house. I drove or walked by it every chance I got that season and it always made me smile…I’m sure Santa saw that bright display, as he flew over on Christmas eve, and I like to think he left a special treat for whoever lived there.

You see, I take those notions of the holidays being about light and hope, fond memories and the belief in magic very seriously. It’s the one time of the year when it seems a little easier for all of us to get it right. We can be, and often are, kinder, more generous and happy this time of the year.

For this reason, I let the holidays linger. You won’t see my Christmas tree out on the curb on New Years Day. Nope! We leave our tree up on through early February. After all, what is the hurry? Couldn’t January and February both use a little more cheer?

I also leave a few Christmas lights up all year – some draped around the back porch, a few stands lighting up the mantles, lights on the ficus in the hall. It might look a bit eccentric, but it makes me feel a little cheerier, more hopeful and bright – as if a little bit of Christmas spirit can last all through the year.