Q- do non religious people people put trees up earlier than religious people?

[RobertSmithdoesmyhair]

Chatting at work today about trees. We noticed that those who are Catholic don't put trees up until much closer to Xmas- around the 15th Dec, as it is nearing the birth of Jesus. However, those who are not religious already have theirs up! Is there a general correlation or not? What do you think? Is Christmas just commercial nowadays?

I'm not religious.

My tree goes up a few days before Christmas Day. That way there's at least a reasonable chance that my cat won't have stripped it entirely bare before the 25th...

Athiest. No tree.

We used to have a very religious neighbour who gave out to us for putting ours up on the 15th; apparently the bible says you can't put it up till christmas eve.

We nodded and smiled and continued to put the tree up around the 15th every year. We haven't been smited yet.

I’m not religious and we have no tree.

We're Catholic and don't put it up till Mid December...then keep it till the 6th of January.
I think its cultural as much as anything. My family (Catholic) have the 'befana' on 6th Jan that takes away decorations and leaves treats in stockings.

I think similar happens in Russia with Babushka and Spain with the Three Kings bring presents in Jan.

We used to have a very religious neighbour who gave out to us for putting ours up on the 15th; apparently the bible says you can't put it up till christmas eve.

Your neighbour claimed there are xmas trees in the bible? They sound deluded.

If doing it completely traditionally in terms of a religious viewpoint of it, I think it would have been the done thing (in the olden days) to put the tree up on Christmas Eve and take it down just after Epiphany in January: the days of Advent from 1. December should have been seen as a serious fasting/self examination period before the feast so more of an austere feel there. But Christmas trees aren't really a key part of the religious elements as such.

Practicing Catholic. My tree if I bother will go up much closer to Christmas. But as I'm away I might not bother this year.

I put mine up near Yule

Surely there are other more significant determining factors- like if yo have a fake tre or a real one?

Fake trees will go up earlier than real ones surely?

My sister is a devout christian- won't have a tree at all- too pagan.

There was a big debate about this in my local Facebook page.

One very patronising woman piled in to go on about how she is such a traditionalist and will of course not be putting her tree up until the magical 12 days before Christmas.

Not quite sure where she magicked up that number but she was being very annoying!

I’m Buddhist and we put ours up on 30th Nov!!

Bona fide God-botherer here and our tree goes up any time between 8th and 19th - it depends when I have time and inclination.

Nothing to do with Jesus and all to do with the fact that it's DD's birthday on 7th and I don't feel it's fair to have it up before then and also the fact that we dig up the same tree each year from the garden and that's quite a schlep so it needs to be a weekend when DH is around and we have time, energy and can find the large bucket.

Genuine question and not meant to be goady but why do atheists celebrats a religious festival ? I would dream of celebrating Hanukkah, Eid or Diwali

I know one church where the tree goes up on the morning of Christmas Eve in time for it to be decorated during the crib service in the afternoon, and then stays up until Candlemas on 2 February. But I think it's more usual now for it to be taken down after church on Epiphany Sunday.

Personally I think sometime around 10 December strikes the right balance. We're getting ours this weekend. We'll probably take it down before going back to work on 2 Jan.

Definitely not Christian - my tree will go up on the 20th or thereabouts.

My neighbours are Salvation Army Majors and their outside tree has been up for a couple of weeks.

Genuine question and not meant to be goady but why do atheists celebrats a religious festival ? I would dream of celebrating Hanukkah, Eid or Diwali
It's not only religious it's cultural and originally replaced a pagan midwinter festival.

Atheist. Mid December.

Genuine question and not meant to be goady but why do atheists celebrats a religious festival ? I would dream of celebrating Hanukkah, Eid or Diwali

It is a cultural festival. I see it as a festival celebrating life, light, love, and the fact that the winter won;t last forever! The tree, for example, has very little if anything to do with the birth of Jesus. And its a festival that is part of my own culture which is why I celebrate it and not Diwali, for example.

Genuine question and not meant to be goady but why do atheists celebrats a religious festival

Because it’s a huge part of our British society, we get a holiday from work (most of us) and it’s fun!

It was also a pagan festival before the Christians pinched it.

I'm a practising Christian and ours went up last weekend, partly because I love putting it up and partly because we are so busy with various advent services at church and visiting family as well as work and volunteering that if I didn't put it up then I simply wouldn't have time this month.

We go to church, tree goes up on advent Sunday

@ohmysoul

So true, I work for a church too, my next breathing time is the 26th December!

MIL uses real candles so theirs only ever went up on 24th so it didn't burn down.
Ours went up the weekend before so it didn't drop all it's needles before Christmas.

Now, ours goes up the first of Advent. It's fake. It's huge. I want to get as much use out of it as possible. The DC send their letters via elf post - which are collected from under a decorated tree as we don't have a chimney.
We are not religious. MIL has a love hate relationship with religion and my parents like everyone to think they are religious.