And down it goes.

Epiphany was yesterday, or Three Kings' Day if you prefer, and on Sunday morning the neighborhood was divided into several factions:

1) Decorations up, lights on
2) Decorations up, lights off
3) Decorations partially removed; light status unclear
4) Never had any decorations up
5) Decorations down and gone

Now, this could sound like the making of a rumble, as doors fly open and neighbors pour into the street to do battle with one another. Fortunately things seemed peaceful, and the police were not required.

As for us, our lights were on last night, but will be off from today. When I will get around to actually taking down the decorations and packing them away is a matter of some question. It's not that we're still celebrating, although Christmas actually ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (this year on January 13) -- but traditionally it ends on Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on February 2. So really, the decorations could stay up until Punxsutawney Phil makes his appearance.

Taking the stuff down is a little sad; makes the place look very empty. It's about as easy as tattoo removal. But it has to be done. If all the year were playing holidays, to play would be as tedious as to work. And we've been back to work for a week, so we're having some crossover here.

My main problem right now is that the house has gotten very cluttered, and I want to take the opportunity to set things up right. Go through it room-by-room as I put away decorations, and indeed the storage areas themselves need to be organized. No more chucking things in the cellar and running away. I've divided the house into 17 areas, each of which will need to be addressed in turn. This is a mission.

Which means I'll be done with it about the time I will be getting ready to put it all out again.

Maybe I should just leave everything up.