When Should Your Neighbors Take Down Their Christmas Lights?

I live in an area of Cheyenne known as "the Avenues".  It's my favorite neighborhood in town, thanks to its proximity to downtown and all of the charming, old historic homes.  Around the holidays, the entire neighborhood is lit up with some of the best light displays you will see anywhere in the city.  And many of those displays are still up halfway through January.

Last night, on my way home from work, I decided to count the number of homes that still had their Christmas lights up.  I counted 12 in 4 blocks.  That's a lot.  Which begs the question, when should I expect my neighbors to take their lights down?

Of course, if you pose that question to five people, you'll likely get five different answers.  Some folks say it's proper and customary to hang lights from Thanksgiving through January.  Others prefer to take theirs down during or shortly after the New Year.  Then there's those folks who will leave their lights up until Easter.

Personally, I don't mind lights hanging year round.  However, if your 6 foot tall inflatable Santa is still sitting in the front yard on Valentine's Day, it's time to take it down and put it away until the fall.