Although I must have missed any formal declaration of it, today was obviously the National Day of Decorating the House. At least it was in our neighborhood, and everywhere I drove this evening people were busy decorating their homes. Not every place, of course, but enough to make me think it's more than a coincidence, it's a conspiracy.

So I jumped in with my humble decorations: feeble battery powered candles from Taiwan are now shining dimly in all the windows and tomorrow we'll hang a wreath, a real one not plastic or battery powered, on the front door. (Memo to self: on trip to get wreath also load up on AA batteries.) We'll probably get a tree (also real) to decorate the back porch. That's it.

Others in our neighborhood are much more ambitious, with lighted trees and garland wreaths and pine rope spreading their holiday cheer. It's a pleasant custom that always brightens up some of these gray fall days.

Well, not always pleasant. The house across the street has a white wire reindeer and a white wire polar bear, both lighted, in the front yard. Oh, and both of their heads turn slowly from side to side. Perhaps it's a new take on the Biblical "lion shall lie down down the lamb" prediction. Or, more likely, perhaps they were on sale at CVS. The word we use down here is "tacky".

The other decoration, if that's the right term, is the string of lighted icicles which hang down from the eaves of the house. Lighted icicles? Please. This is coastal North Carolina. If you want icicles hanging from the home, move to Buffalo.

But calm down here, Scrooge. Whatever your spiritual disposition this time of year, a little color and light in the neighborhood are good things, and we can all feel refreshed and energized by the new scenery. Even the tacky stuff.