Luck, Christmas Trees, and Epiphany (Holly Schindler)

I am a firm believer that Christmas trees come down on the 26th. I'm a little looser about when they go up. I usually put them up on Thanksgiving weekend, but they might also go up a little earlier, depending on my Thanksgiving plans. 

But I am adamant about coming down--they come down on the 26th. If the weather is decent, the outdoor decorations come down on the 26th too.

 

Apparently, there's a superstition that you're supposed to take the tree down on Epiphany--January 6. Taking them down earlier will bring on a year of bad luck. 

Sometimes, I think writers are worse than athletes about superstitions. We don't submit before the holidays. Back in the days of paper subs, we used to put lucky stamps on SASEs. We don't send manuscripts after four p.m. Or we only submit on Mondays. Or we submit wearing lucky socks. 

But the thing is, there's only one thing that creates luck--and it isn't socks and it isn't a day of the week and it isn't a number. It's showing up. Every day. Even when things aren't going well. Even if part of you wonders if anything you do matters anymore. 

Here's the truth: It does matter. It matters even more when you've been beaten up and you wonder if it's worth it. 

I have a quote from Emily Dickinson above my desk. It's been there since I started writing full time in '01. It says:

"Luck is not chance—
It's Toil—
Fortune's expensive smile
Is earned"

I still believe it, all these years later. 

And next year, my tree will come down before Epiphany.

~

Holly Schindler is the author of the MG The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky