Lights up!

I’m not one of those folks who go all gush-gush over Christmas. Who start decorating in November. Who just can’t wait to see what’s behind the next door on the Advent calendar.

Don’t get me wrong. I do have some bah-humbugging moments, but I’m no Scrooge. I buy presents, put up a tree, send cards, entertain, make donations, volunteer, wrap presents, sing carols, bake cookies, go to a concert. But you’ll never catch me singing ‘it’s the most wonderful time of the year.’ That would be baseball season. Or fall (especially if the local baseball season is still on).

Mostly what I appreciate about the Christmas season is that it’s a reasonably good antidote to the darkness that’s falling all around us. And what makes it a good antidote is all those lights.

So what I do love about this time of year is that they light up the Boston Common (colored lights) and the Public Garden (white lights). Both right there in/as my front yards.

Last night, I happened to be walking through the Common just as they turned on the lights for the season. In the past, I’ve gone to the lighting ceremony, but this year I had a meeting downtown, so I was just passing through on my way back home.

Countdown: 10, 9, 8. The Mayor pressed the button, and everyone sang “Deck the Halls.”

I didn’t take a picture of the actual Common Christmas tree, but they also light the deciduous trees, so here are a couple of pics I took when I walked by the Frog Pond skating rink. If there’s a lovelier urban winter sight than folks skating after dark amidst the Christmas lights, I don’t know what it is. (Actually, I do know: it’s this scene with snow.)

Last year, they kept the lights up until February. I hope they do it again this year. If there’s one time of year I do actively dislike, it’s January. Long, cold, dark, and dreary.

But as long as they keep these lights on, I’ll make it through just fine.