The Christmas tree is down!

[ILikeMySuitcase]

Just taken down the main living room tree, absolute workout getting it back in the box and as usual I found a couple of stars once I'd packed away the decorations.

Trying to get all the trees down today so I can deep clean the house before New Years.

Anyone else just want their space back and taking decorations down today?

😂😂 Catholics can ask/say if someone's house is manky.

Nothing in the opening post suggests an unclean, untidy, 'manky' house though? So it's just your own unkind judgement at play - hence the pp suggesting it's not very Christian-like behaviour - to make judgements about people, especially with no evidence to back up the comment.

Ours is coming down at the weekend.
It's been up since beginning of Dec so thats plenty of time to enjoy it.

I dont know why people seem to get so angry at others for doing things differently- if you want to keep yours up all year then do it! Noone is stopping you 😂

Depends how early you put up the tree, and how much space you have, when you go back to work etc, Ours usually comes down New Years Day.

My Dfriend had taken theirs down when the children went to bed last night!

Noooo! But will go down probably M as we are going away for new year and want it all nice and clean for when we get back in the new year

Mine will come down the 29th this year as we are hosting NYE and we need the extra space for all the people and 3 extra dogs that will be here! I like them all down and away before New Year's Day.

Do they not also celebrate NYE?

Master bedroom, both kids bedrooms, dining room, living room. Yes all decorated fully. Thankfully taking them down is much faster than putting them up, erecting and decorating is a two day job.

Do you understand what a tradition is? It’s the passing down of beliefs/customs from one generation to the next. Tradition also has a theological meaning which is a belief that is held to have spiritual authority despite not being written in the spiritual texts - eg transmitted orally.

There is no tradition of Christmas in November it’s a purely commercial marketing strategy.

What you seem to be referring to is family habits. I agree some families have the habit of putting up trees in November, buying matching themed pyjamas and and an elf on a shelf - but that has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas.

My tree went up in November and will go down in January. Christmas is a season- it's so expensive I'm making the most of it!!!!

The thing is in the 80s and 90s when I was a kid none of this was a thing. People didn’t even think about Xmas until December it’s only recently since the birth of social media that everyone all of a sudden feels the need to make up traditions such as elf on the shelf, Xmas eve boxes and brrr boxes. This absolutely was never a thing until social media. Now all of a sudden everyone feels the need to compete to be the first one to start Xmas!

I do. It's part of it all.

I have three trees this year. I used to have 4, and then.... cats!

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a tree so far as I'm concerned!

Definition of a tradition

“a long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another.”

plural noun: traditions

We don’t celebrate in November but from 6 December onwards

I'd far rather keep the tree up! I am sick of Christmas music now!

Christmas seems to start far too early now that it’s easy to become fed up with it all before Christmas Day.

As an atheist you’re not actually celebrating Christmas at all. It’s just a party season with no meaning attached. In that case there’s definitely no such thing as tradition as that is rooted in religious belief and custom.

It's Christmas holidays until the children go back to school!

When did you put the tree up?
Why remove 'Christmas' from your house so early?
In our house we only put our tree (always a real one) up around 21st and take it down on 12th night. So your way seems odd to me.

A tradition doesn’t have to have any religious significance. Our tradition is to celebrate (like many) that Christmas is a time for family to get together (we have 17 of us celebrating together this year), good food and drinks, presents and parties.
Families develop their own traditions - each special to them. One of our traditions in my DM embroiders everyone a Christmas tree decoration. Her mother did the same before her.

I think this is the trouble when people put them up too soon. Having said that we intend taking everything down at the weekend as I like to be fresh for new year.

A rare voice of reason.

Why November 10th? That's over 6 weeks before Xmas.

Summed up well.

I love Christmas. I love family time. I love seeing my friends. But, I need down time. I need peace and quiet and (god forbid) some normality.

I have a small child, so the Christmas stuff starts early regardless of what I, personally, feel. It starts at nursery. Grandparents buy things, aunts/uncles give her things. People want to see her, want to make sure her presents are bought and not duplicated.

Then there's work. There's the big work do. The festive team meeting. The team lunch. Christmas activities and decorations in the office.

My ideal would be the tree up the weekend before Christmas and down the day after New Years Day, or maybe the weekend after that depending on how it falls. A small period of loveliness without it feeling like clutter. I'd like to cram all the Christmas stuff into that two week period and then take some time to recharge my batteries.

I like winter. I like the sunrises and sunsets at times I'm awake to see them. I like frost and snow. I like the dark nights, snuggled up with a hot drink and a film or a good book. I like the fact there's much less expectation to socialise (I'm not massively sociable anyway outside of family).

Having more "stuff" in your house or more social obligations isn't festive for everyone. And that's ok.

This. And now Halloween decorations going up a week before and coming down by darkness on actual Halloween. The whole point is that they are meant to be displayed on the night of the 31st.

@IpsyUpsyDaisyDoos Solidarity 🤜🏻