Good People Of Bozeman, Today Is Take Down The Christmas Tree Day

I'll be honest, this time of year always makes me sad.

The Holidays have come and gone and now the only thing left to do is to take down the decorations and get on with life.  If it was up to me, I would leave the tree up all year, however, my wife isn't as jolly as I am.

So when are Montanans supposed to take down the Christmas Tree?  Well, according to the internet, that day is today. Today is National Take Down The Christmas Tree Day.

So why today? Great question, I was wondering the same thing myself and so I decided to do some research. The reason that we take the tree down today is that it's the end of the "12 Days of Christmas". ( By the way, my mind was totally blown when I read this.  I had no idea that the first day of Christmas actually happened on Christmas)

For Montanans that prefer the artificial tree, it's a pretty quick process. You take the tree down, put it back in its box or bag, put the decorations in the totes, and back to whatever storage area you keep them in.

So, what if you have a real tree?  What do you do with that?

The City of Bozeman has its annual tree recycling program going on and there are a few locations where you can drop those real trees off.  According to the City, here are the locations for drop-off.

• Gallatin Valley Regional Park: Entrance off Oak St, Drop trees in the Southeast corner of the parking lot.
• Softball Complex: Entrance off Haggerty, not Highland Blvd. Drop trees in the Southwest corner of the parking lot.
• Christie Fields: Along East Mason St, Drop trees east of the restrooms

This is a service for Bozeman residents and they do ask that you only bring trees and not wreaths or garlands. Oh and the best part?  The recycled product will be turned into mulch for Lindley Park. So yes, it's a sad day for my fellow Christmas Tree lovers, however, it's good to know that many of those trees will go to help beautify one of our beloved parks here in town.

Oh, and in case you're counting, it's just 353 days until Christmas 2022.