It's a slow news day so here's an article...

[Jangler]

...telling you it's time to take down your holiday decorations.

http://www.carrollcounty.com/articles/2010/01/16/news/local_news/03_christmas_decorations.txt

Ten large wreaths adorn the windows to his house. Then there are lights on the bushes and even a snowman figurine on his porch.

Hild would have likely taken them down earlier this month, especially since the holidays ended about three weeks ago, but the frigid weather has kept him and others from being able to do so.

Today’s weather might provide the best conditions in a while to remove lights. The National Weather Service is calling for a mostly sunny day with a high near 46 degrees for most of Carroll County.

The weather will turn Sunday, with a 100 percent chance of precipitation with highs in the 30s. Those who have off Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will see a sunny day with highs in the upper 40s.

Etiquette teacher Kelly Frager said there really is no protocol for taking down holiday decorations, but individuals should try not to offend any neighbors who might be sensitive to the decorations being up well after the holiday season.

“I don’t know if there’s really etiquette to taking down holiday lights,” she said. “Having good manners is about being considerate.”

Frager said some people try to take their decorations down by New Year’s Day because it symbolizes a fresh start. Others try to have theirs down after Jan. 6, the Christian holiday Epiphany, which celebrates the arrival of the wise men in Bethlehem to see Jesus.

Ptak’s front yard included lighted trees and snowmen. He usually has decorations out by Black Friday and down after the first week of January.

He said he would’ve taken his decorations down but everything is frozen and he’s been picking them up little by little. He recently tried to take them down, but his hands got cold and he came back inside.

“Anything touching the ground is frozen and not coming up until we get a warm spell,” Ptak said Wednesday. “It’s been so cold, and everything is frozen; I don’t want to yank them out and break them.”

Hild said he’s been putting holiday decorations up since he was a child. He usually has his decorations down about two weeks after the holiday season ends.

He said he has left floodlights in the ground because they’re frozen and the wire doesn’t wrap around as easy as it does in warmer weather.

Hild said he hasn’t received any phone calls or complaints from his neighbors about his decorations, which he hopes to start taking down today.

“If you have a 60-degree day, you capitalize on that,” he said Wednesday. “You pray for global warming in January.”

[2jakefansinva]

Took mine down yesterday. We had already taken down most of them......just had to wait for the roof to dry to remove those. Weather does dictate when I will take Christmas lights down.