And Sarah texted me that she forgot to charge her laptop, as we were driving home from picking out a Christmas Tree.
So, given it’s the Mad Genius Club, and I get to play today, let’s talk a bit about what holiday traditions say about people and characters. Many of the stories we adore are . . . eventful, and don’t have time for holidays. But others do take the time, and how people celebrate tells us a great deal about the characters we’re enjoying.
I’m going to pick on our own Alma TC Boykin here, for an example, because she uses the Christian holy days to great effect in her Familiars books. (Also because I’m rereading in spare moments.) Her descriptions put you right there in the church, with a Leila unsure what she believes, only that she believes there is Someone; and later on with a Leila who knows Who she believes in.
Holiday traditions might illuminate religious choices, family traditions that came from religion or practical custom, cultural expectations, or the defiance thereof. One character might misdirect the others with their traditions. Why do your characters do or not do the things they do?
(As for me and my house, this year we actually could have gotten the tree a week ago: the performances wrapped up early this year. But that would be SO WEIRD. Yes, we’re a household of performing artists. No one, but no one, has the energy to decorate for Christmas before the last curtain closes and everyone sleeps two days. So we keep the decorations up for six weeks or so after Christmas instead.)
Mad Genius Club 
5 responses to “Twas the Night before Christmas”
I have lights outside, nothing inside. I’m going to a 9PM church service where a friend is doing the music this evening. I actually did not expect to have today off. I think people with family in town do more things.
The outside pf the house is decorated. Alas, MomRed and I were so busy with finals, music, and visiting friends that decorating inside did not happen this year. Next year, I hope it will be different. We both sang at the Christmas Eve service.
We did watch the broadcast of the local university Christmas music, and the LDS Christmas special (Hope).
Most manage to keep their holidays from creeping on the calendar.
For those who want to consider the problem: I went to a store on December 9th and saw a St. Valentine’s Day thing.
When the lady at the drug store told a customer “The calendars are back past the Valentine’s Day candy,” everyone glared and groaned words to the effect of “too soon.”
I stopped at Home Depot a couple days before Halloween, and almost all of the over-the-top H’ween decorations were gone, but the Christmas tree selection was already installed.
We’re far enough in the country that the audience for outside decorations are the deer and the coyotes, so we’ve been passing. We got inside decorations up a week or so into December (usually Thanksgiving weekend is the goal), with expectations for them to come down on Ephiphany. I have a medical trip that blocks that day, but we’ll likely dedecorate later that week.
And Merry Christmas to all!