Nows and Forevers

When do the lights go out?

Driving around tonight, I wondered why there are so many holiday lights still out. It’s Jan. 5, for pete’s sake.

This year it felt like the holiday lights were out earlier than usual — early November — and even just about two weeks after Christmas, at least half my neighborhood has them out and bright still.

Most holiday lights stay on until at least Jan. 1, right? But then that’s the unofficial end of the holiday and they should be removed and put away? But Jan. 1 was a rainy Sunday around here and maybe that’s why the lights are still mostly on. But this weekend, no matter what it’s going to be like, I would think most would be down.

That would be two weeks after Christmas, and eight days after New Year’s Day. Must be some kind of record.

Counterpoint: My holiday lights aren’t down yet, either. But that’s only because of laziness.