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Holiday Subway Etiquette: Don't Bring Your Tree On The Train
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 11, 2013
Modified Dec 11, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 11, 2013
Modified Dec 11, 2013
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On the most recent episode of The Mindy Project, Dr. Mindy Lahiri (played by Kaling) is seen trying to get her Christmas tree on to a crowded subway car. (The show, by the way, has some of the most unrealistic subway cars on television.) This move wasn't some made up Hollywood thing... it happens in the real life subway system every holiday season. But is it okay?
Last year there was that 12-foot tree on the subway, which we gave a pass to, noting it was something only Clark W. Griswold would be ballsy and idiotic enough to try, and therefore demanding approval. You see, The Christmas Tree doesn't have the same rules as other large items—while your iron patio furniture set may lead to civil unrest, a Christmas tree can transform a dreary train car tableau into a magical holiday Lifetime movie scene. So even if it's large and intrusive, only a grinch will really be annoyed. Or anyone who associates holidays with empty materialism... or bad memories... or intense stress and anxiety... or that, like, feeling of a true sense of aloneness.
It may also start a chain reaction of Arboreal Bloodlust.
So maybe just don't bring your tree on the train... and especially don't do it in the way it's pictured above.
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christmas tree
etiquette
subway etiquette
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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