Having chased tinsel all year, I have finally come full circle. Off-season tinsel is a symptom of the household disorder called Seasonal Overlap Syndrome, better known as S. O. S. These silvery ghosts of Christmases past appear out of nowhere throughout the year, taunting me on Valentine’s Day, Easter, the 4th of July, and, yes, a silver strand waved at me from my potted palm as I set out candy for Halloween this fall. No doubt there are strands of tinsel in my house dating back to the 1970’s, lurking in my closets, clinging to the underside of the sofa, and crouched beneath the easy chairs, just waiting to emerge with their silent “Boo!”
Sometimes, it isn’t just the tinsel connection that blurs the lines between the holidays. It also has to do with time-slippage. I will explain. This year, while I was waving goodbye to Thanksgiving guests, Advent slipped in. So, reluctant to rush the lingering spirit of Thanksgiving, I arranged the Advent wreath on the table next to the wilting autumn floral arrangement and ceramic turkey dish. Then I hung the Advent calendar, pausing to retrieve a strand of last year’s tinsel which was still grasping the felt background.
Episodes of celebration overlap are more common as I get older, but I am more comfortable with them than I used to be. For example, the yellow “Happy Birthday” balloon still bobs over the dining room table (November brings two family birthdays), and the paper chain garland (celebrating the November wedding anniversary of my oldest son and his wife) still drapes along the kitchen cupboards. Still feeling festive, I am in no hurry to take them down, so I just layered them into the Christmas decorations.
Anyway, Christmas has overlap built in. For example, tradition requires us to save a charred piece of our previous Christmas’s Yule log to help kindle this Christmas Eve’s fire, and family traditions and decorations often overlay generations of celebrating, as well. Several of our Christmas tree ornaments have been handed down through several generations; some were homemade by our boys when they were young, or by family and friends who have moved or died. Other items that hang on our tree are not ornaments at all. These include several wooden characters salvaged from the old Mother Goose crib mobile that had circled over our babies’ heads. The Christmas tree is a good place to hang sweet memories, along with the tinsel.
Also, for those who wait to take down Christmas decorations until after Epiphany on January 6 (the twelfth day after Christmas which celebrates the arrival of the Magi), New Year’s confetti and streamers will mingle comfortably with the tinsel on the tree and the straw from the manger.
In past years, I have draped copious amounts of tinsel on anything that had not moved for more than five minutes. Of course, the tinsel strands set up migrating routes from there. The cats, for instance, due to their proclivity for crawling under anything in the house with a clearance of more than two inches, and their recurring bouts with severe static cling, often sport silvery strands throughout the year. This year, however, I was not “into” tinsel, so what will mark my trail through the coming year?
Wait a minute—is that a clump of Easter grass under the edge of the piano? The chase is on!
