Why do people take the Christmas tree down Boxing Day?

[wheredolobely]

My Facebook is full of it
Ripped down Christmas night.
I don't understand it.
Most of them had them up since the day after Halloween (when it wasn't even Christmas )
Then rip it down when it's Christmas (12 days of Christmas)
Oh I'm sick of the mess
Need my living room back
Honestly i don't understand the logic
Why not enjoy the festive season as long as possible

I don’t put it up because of advent - I’m not religious. Christmas to me is about spending time with loved ones. I put it up early to bring some sparkly joy to the darker months. And as I’m housebound a lot due to illness, it really brings me that joy.

I'm not religious either. I was using advent as a kind of marker to the start of the festive season, beginning of December. November is far too early. It's like having ghosts and vampires up in the middle of September or chicks and rabbits before Valentine's Day.

I'm always surprised that anyone believes that Christmas is anything to do with Jesus and Christianity etc?

In pre-Christian times, pagans held huge Yule/Saturnalia celebrations on and around the shortest day of the year. Bonfires, dancing, feasting, the whole shebang.

The fledgling Christian faith decided to piggy back on these pagan celebrations in the hope it would encourage pagans to celebrate Jesus instead.

If Yule/Saturnalia had been held in, say, July then (as if by magic) we'd all be celebrating the birth of Jesus in high Summer.

Christmas as we know it today was a Victorian invention.

It’s not too early for me though. What harm is it doing if it brings people joy?

As I've just said on another thread, I've not had a tree up in almost 20yrs but I'm being badgered this year, so mine will go up as late as possible on 24/12 and will be back in its box by the morning of 26/12 at the absolute latest, probably even by teatime on 25th!

Never said it was doing harm. I said I didn't understand it. I prefer to stick with the proper seasons.

You don’t understand that someone else has different traditions than you?

Could be worse. In Japan people take them down on Christmas Eve.

Right before tucking into a family bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I loved the years we lived in Japan for that very reason. Somewhere I probably still have a KFC commemorative Christmas plate 😂

My mother’s birthday is in December, so we never used to put the tree up until after that. Usually the weekend before Christmas, or maybe 2 weekends before depending when it fell. I’ve continued that through my life, though my late husband would have put it up earlier if I’d let him. Then, once married, we generally went away for New Year so would take it down again before we went. No one wants to come back from a holiday or even weekend away to a Christmas tree. Though, I am not religious and don’t believe in Santa ;)

They put them up too early. Mine goes up around the 22nd December and comes down around the 2nd January

Mines goes up the first weekend on December and comes down around 30th. I like going into the new year totally fresh.

I agree that many go up too early, but maybe people are just after cheering up their winter. Mine goes up about the 23rd and it’s down on Boxing Day. It will be the 27th this year though, as we have family visiting on Boxing Day.

What's the difference? Why are you changing what you normally do because of family visiting?

Because it’s a Christmas get together visit, so it will be nice to have a tree with some pretty lights!

Because my living room is tiny and the tree makes it even more cramped.

Up two weeks before christmas, down on December 31st in this house.