to think Christmas finishes by New Year?

[PineappleDanish]

Lots of threads about people taking down their decorations to be met with a flurry of "oh no, Christmas only STARTS on the 25th and runs to 6th Jan!"

This wasn't a thing when I was little, decorations always went up around mid-December, down either just before New Year or just after. I don't think I knew anyone who did the 12th night thing, and Epiphany wasn't a word I ever heard anyone use in my church going family. Just not a "thing".

Is this regional? Is keeping your decorations up to 6th Jan a more "English" thing while us Scots, Irish and Welsh are more focused on the new year hoolie? Or is it a Catholic/Protestant tradition thing given that many southern european catholic countries like Italy and Spain traditionally celebrate Epiphany and the three wise men bringing gifts rather than Santa Claus?

YABU - of course Christmas starts on 24th dec and isn't over until 6th Jan

YANBU - starts at some point in December, done and dusted by 27th.

We usually do tree around the 14-20 (depending on the year) and keep up until Jan 2. This year almost everyone I knew had their tree up by late November, some even mid November. Seems to be getting earlier and earlier.

I'm not religious so I don't care how long the wise men took to reach jesus. DH's birthday is today so it's birthday season not Christmas.

Tree up 1st December and down usually 30th.

People can do what they like, but in this country the end of the Christian Christmas is Epiphany

And to answer the questions I'm not from a religious family at all. None of the family go to Church, but background is Anglican not Catholic and from the North of England. We still always waited till 12th night to take tree down my mother said it was bad luck to take it down before or to leave it later.

Traditionally the 12 days of Christmas starts on 25th December and ends the day before epiphany. Much of Europe celebrates 12th night - in some countries it's bigger than Christmas. It's a traditional Catholic celebration. Not a new thing at all.

Decs go up mid-December, we're ready to take them down by 2nd Jan. As we're back at work and too knackered to do it then, they come down on 12th night or the following Saturday.

Decorations up second weekend of December and down on NYD or shortly after.
Yorkshire.

I'm in my 50s, English, CofE 'working class' northern upbringing (just to add to the context 🤷‍♀️).

As a child we would always put up the decorations on or around the 20th of December (after school finished) and took them down on the 6th (epiphany). We once had to leave a bit of tinsel wrapped around a picture in the living room all year, because my granny insisted it was bad luck to take it down AFTER the 6th, and this 'rogue piece' had been missed in the 'de-dec' 😂 I bloody loved coming home all year to bright red tinsel 😂

I still put mine up this late (first weekend school finishes) but take them all down on the 27th! I'm fed up by then, and want my house all clean and tidy again 😊

OP...I'm not sure why this 'wasn't a thing when you were little'. It isn't new (even Shakespeare wrote a play based around it!) So unless you are going to drip feed that 'your church' is one that none of us have ever heard of in Outer Mongolia, where the 'parishioners' worship a rare plant that flowers only on the second Thursday in September, then you're either misremembering, or your family (like most families!!) had their own traditions with regards to the putting up and taking down of decorations 😉

Another Irish person here, decorations stay up until 6th January which is women’s Christmas. I’ve only heard about people taking decs down before this on here. New year is a big deal here but the difference is New Year happens during the christmas season, it’s not a separate thing it’s part of Christmas.

The queen keeps her decorations and cards up until early February when she leaves Sandringham.

As a child decorations went up Christmas Eve and down on 12th night.

Now some of my neighbours put the lights up in November and take them down before New Year,mine remain in splendid isolation until the 12th night,they went up on the 21st December.

I put my decs up on the 1st Dec and take them down on the 1st Jan. I couldn't be doing with them being up when we're back at school and work. Like to have everything back to normal by then.

Scottish here. We do 5th jan

"Does seem that more people from a Catholic background do the Epiphany thing. Must have been too much fun for the dour Scottish protestant tradition. All that frivolity! Obviously the three wise men were in the Christmas stories I heard at school and church but their arrival was no big deal in the scheme of things."

Weeeeeeell Christmas Day wasn't even a public holiday in Scotland till 1958 because the Church of Scotland pretty much banned it.

I'm Scottish, Protestant, and I don't think my parents would have bothered with Christmas decorations at all if it weren't for us children. Hogmanay was always more of an occasion.

Pressed YANBU instead of yabu by mistake. Despite the ridiculously long build up that has now become the norm Christmas begins on Christmas Day and and finishes on 6 Jan. Unfortunately the shops and the 'can't wait to get the Dec's up' brigade have succeeded in boring everyone to death by mid Dec and removing much of the mid winter wonder from Christmas but hopefully things will eventually return to the way they were originally intended.

I'm surprised at the number of people who do not know about the 12 days and Epiphany.

Mine go up 2nd week in December and are packed away on or before New Years Day so it's done before everyone is back at work.

As much as I love Christmas there is no way I am doing all that single handed

Christmas is over now.

Northern and Catholic here.
Decorations go up mid-late December and come down on Feast of the Epiphany.
Given that winter only just begins in December I think it's nice to keep the lights and decorations up into January. A little nod to the Pagan festivals that were celebrated on this island before Christianity was introduced.
I like the delayed gratification as well. A later Christmas spectacle in the darkest time of the year when it is arguably more needed.

Christmas ends on Jan 2 when everyone is back at work but DP always insists the decorations stay up until Jan 6 which I hate. Everything is covered in dust by then and I'm just itching to have a good clean!

My Mother always used to take the decorations down on New Years Day.

6th is the Epiphany, a big deal in many parts of Europe. YABU.

In our house the tree goes up around the 15th December mainly as we always have a real tree and it wouldn't last if it went up earlier. Other decorations may start to be put up from 1st dec onwards. It all comes down on the 6th jan, no earlier.

And that has always been the case when I was a child too. Decorations come down on twelfth night.

When I was a kid it lasted until epiphany - 6 jan.

Nowadays, by 2 Jan I take down everything.