Bird Tree Day Update--Jan. 3

The weary bus passenger heaved a sigh as he plopped into his seat this afternoon. "I can't believe it's 2008 already. It seems like 2007 went by so fast."

Deeper sigh. "And now I have to go take down my Christmas tree and all the decorations, and put them away. I hate doing that, it's so much work. Maybe I should just cover it with a blanket til next year."

*****

This morning there was no trace that the Bird Tree had ever been decorated, unless you looked at the ground. There you could see snow that had been tramped by the decorators' footprints, the delicate tracks of the birds on untrampled snow, and a few bits of clementine peel. The deep green fir tree stood stately and serene, flexing only a little in the brisk cold wind.

*****

I bit my tongue, responding the passenger only with sympathetic hmm's and oh?'s. Other people's traditions, especially Christmas ones, must be respected no matter how little sense they seem to make, to me. For some people it just isn't Christmas without someone getting drunk, someone going into hysterics, someone complaining bitterly about putting up/taking down the decoration, someone swearing they'll never cooking another Christmas dinner. The dramas, the annoyances, the hassles, the conflicts, the pain can be as much a part of a tradition as the twinkling lights, the wrapped packages, the sweet carols, the new dress to wear to church, the office Christmas party.

But my Christmas sure wasn't very stressful, and not much cleanup, either.