When do you take down your Christmas decorations? Everyone seems to have their own idea of what's proper. Some think they've done their Christian duty if they hold out till Epiphany (which means you toss the tree the first week in January). The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, this past weekend, seems like the most liturgically defensible end-date; by now your parish has probably returned to normal. But nostalgics, holiday-lovers, and those of us who have a lot of other things to do in January (that's me!) like to keep everything festive till the Feast of the Presentation, which buys us another three weeks of cheer.When the tree and Christmas creche went up in St. Peter's Square, the assumption was that they'd stay there till Candlemas, February 2, in keeping with Vatican tradition. So, yesterday, CNS blogger Carol Glatz was surprised to see them coming down. Is this another reform -- however out of character -- from Benedict XVI? So it seemed... Until today, when Glatz saw the decorations restored to their full splendor! What can this mean?Glatz couldn't quite get a straight answer from her contacts at the Vatican. Electrical problem? Leak in the stable roof? Or was it, as one staffer reportedly claimed, "a miracle"?

The staffer who had told me yesterdayChristmas decorations were going to betaken down early this year retracted thecomment saying, It was false.But Italian police who patrol the square told one Vatican journalist they had beenalerted that trucks would arrive to dismantlethe Nativity sceneon Monday.

Curiouser and curiouser. Whom should we believe?!I don't know what to make of all this, but I do know a potential conspiracy-theory best-seller when I see one. Aspiring Dan Browns can follow this story via the Vatican's web cam ... unless, of course, that's just what they want you to think! (Hat tip to Catholic Sensibility.)