OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Christmas is over, which means holiday decorations are coming down. Many people are asking when is a good time to take down Christmas lights.
A lot of people across the metro use the Plaza light schedule. The lights come on Thanksgiving night and stay on through mid January. Others have traditions and religious reasons for when their lights are taken down.
Mike Peck is the Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Overland Park.
“Christmas is actually a season in the church year,” he said. “Twelve days begins on 25, which is first day of Christmas takes you through January 5 which is the 12th day of Christmas. At that point you would take your lights down in preparation for the celebration of Epiphany, which takes place on the 6th.”
Al Amaet follows the same schedule. You may recognize his display near 95th & Lamar. His clever neighbor saved some time by borrowing his lights.
“It’s kind of a tradition with me, I know some people take them down right after Christmas or at the new year, for me it’s always been let it go for 12 days of Christmas then take them down,” Al Amet said.
Pastor Mike says traditions change to be more practical.
“You’re off on the first, what do you do?” said Peck. “You take down the lights to get ready for new year because you want to get all that stuff out of the house, begin to lose weight and start with clean slate.”
Which calendar does he follow?
“At our house we operate on my wife’s calendar, which is home day after Thanksgiving. We put up the lights, we’re home on the first we take down the lights. I gave up that battle a long time ago.”
No matter when you take your lights down, it’s essentially up to you. If you’re smart, you’ll take advantage of some of the warm weather over the next few days and take your lights down then.
