Holly Folly

“I thought you hated Christmas,” wrote a friend of mine on Facebook after I posted a picture of my house all lit up and festive, “Blink twice if you need help.”

To clarify, I dislike bells, even on reindeer. I cannot stand Christmas music. I really, truly despise all religion, and Christmas especially manages to sweep all followers of such foppery into its clutches, putting the “Pay” in Paganism, so ubiquitous as to elicit Chinese food traditions for many Jews amid their unironic eight-day celebration of freedom from occupying forces, and including Muslims in the “a virgin had a baby and named him Jesus, but we’re not so silly that we think he was the son of god or anything, so we just read from our special book…”

But I like lights. And who doesn’t like presents? I also like time off, and differenting from regular daily life, and the Christmas season does afford one to at least do those things.

Some friends came down for Holly Folly weekend, which started, for us, on Friday with a slightly grungy drag review, Tina Burner in A Bitchmas Carol. Tina was a contestant in Ru Paul’s Drag Race, season 13.

While Tina seems a bit rode hard and put away wet, over all she was fun in a moody way, which fit the room.

Saturday was the Jingle Bell Run, where many sets of personal jingle bells, as well as rear ends, antlers, in one case, an ill-considered pair of high-heel boots were on display running past the house. My friend took this video as her partner and I stayed indoors with the dogs.

Sunday we capped it off with Holly Folly Bingo. It turns out this is my favorite thing in the world to do, even though I won nothing.

It was my friend Charlotte’s birthday, and one of the ladies kindly agreed to send her a birthday greeting.

In spite of all the madness, the town is actually serene and quite lovely this time of year.

Holiday market, Town Hall, the Provincetown Monument, one of many colorful side walkways, my house.

I may avail myself of the chance for that time off in the coming weeks, though the itch to say hello to you all is strong each Tuesday morning.

Whatever your personal choices in life, I hope the next couple of weeks are filled with holly folly of your own liking.

Meanwhile, I have found the perfect gift for my father, a combination of our mutual feeling about Christmas and our mutual appreciation of the New England coast.

A Grinch horseshoe crab.