By Jessica Easthope
Christmas came and went, but the lights and decorations are still up at Sara Pascucci’s house. That’s because her father, Anthony, put them up, but never got the chance to take them down before he passed away of COVID-19 on January 15.
“He loved Christmas, that was his favorite holiday. On every year, the day after Thanksgiving he would get all his decorations out and put them up and have his Christmas music playing,” Sara said of her late father.
Sara, her brother Anthony Jr. and her aunt who all live on Berkshire Road in Bethpage, Long Island, found comfort in keeping them up for a little while, if it meant keeping her dad’s memory alive. But a few days ago, Sara got an anonymous letter in the mail with a message that shocked her.
“It was mailed anonymously, not even a return address or our names,” Sara said as she held the letter that read, “Take your lights down, it’s Valentine’s Day.”
Sara couldn’t help but take it personally, knowing what her family has been through and knowing how much the decorations meant to her dad.
“We were kind of shocked at first but then it set in and we’re like, ‘This is kind of ridiculous.’ And it hurt and we were upset, and it was something so silly that we didn’t need at this time,” said Sara.
But after posting about it on social media, she found out some of her neighbors got letters too for keeping their lights up too long.
“We were like, ‘This is crazy.’ Everything going on in the world, this is what somebody’s worried about,” said Bree Fazio, Sara’s neighbor.
Bree got her letter after her decorations were stowed away, so what did she do? She headed to the garage and got them right back out.
“We put the decorations back up in honor of that family, and for what Sara and Anthony had gone through,” she said.
Now, several houses on Sara’s block are decking the halls all over again. And with the recent weather, they say their White Christmas re-do is just what they needed.
“I just thought it was a nice way to bring joy to everybody and let everyone know that we’re all kind of in this together,” Sara said.
The block even went as far as giving the anonymous sender some Christmas cheer on Valentine’s Day, holding a car parade down the street.
As for when the Pascuccis will take the merry decor down? Who knows.
“Me and my brother are debating, he wants to keep them up all year,” said Sara.
Whether the decorations come down or not, Anthony’s picture will be in the window.