To find it a bit weird there are still houses decorated for Christmas

[Darkrainbowsquid]

That’s it.
DH and I take an evening walk every night and I am still seeing houses with Christmas lights flashing and houses that have decorated Christmas trees in their windows.

I am getting that people feel they need cheering up.... but is that just it? Am I missing something and need to get the decs out of the attic again?

I've still got lights in the front garden and they'll stay up all year. It's so dark and dreary when they come down and I like seeing lights! We're putting them up indoors as well when DH gets around to it.

I know Some people have left it up as they find the lights cheering.
Others may be too busy or having a bad time mental health wise and can’t face doing it.

Eh. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve taken mine down but you don’t know what’s going on with people.

I’ve still got my tree up, no outdoor lights though

I'm usually very strict about them coming down on the 6th, and I never put them up before mid December. But this year I've left one little set of lights in my front window - they're not overtly Christmassy, they look lovely, and I plan to take them down when the nights get lighter again. It came to taking everything down and the weather was awful and we'd just gone back to homeschooling, and I just thought fuck it, I'm keeping them.

Meh...My tree is staying put until Candlemas, each to their own.

I'm superstitious so usually mine only ever goes up the first weekend in December, and always comes down on the 6th January.
However due to circumstances this time I didn't actually get to finish the tree and turn it on until Christmas Day, I didn’t finish it properly so I was happy with it (doing the last move of lights, making sure it looks right and securing the leads to the table leg so they can't be seen. Tree has to go on a table because of the height of the window) until Boxing Day, and we, well I just hadn't had long enough to enjoy it and couldn’t take it down on the 6th. So I've left the tree up until Candlemas on the 2nd February. Not even sorry. (Everything else, cards, sons Father Christmas sign from the window, ornaments and decorations are all away though). Will start closing the shutters again when I feel we’ve subjected the neighbours to it enough).
I always miss it when I have to take it down, the room feels so empty and dark.

I’ve noticed this too and it just made me feel sad that people feel they need this right now, but I fully understand why. Im the opposite, mine was up late and down early, couldn’t face it. Both an equally sad state of affairs.

Last year, due to my mental health, my tree went up on christmas eve and came down mid Feb.

I can't judge decorations anymore and I used to.

Lights ok.

But leaving trees up past Christmas gives me a creepy feeling like Ms Havishham sitting in her wedding dress 70 years later.

I've always kept fairy lights up around the house all year round, but the Christmas tree always comes down before NYE. January is depressing enough as it is without having the tree hanging around like a spare testicle, reminding me that I can't eat chocolate guilt-free any more

Some people leave lights up until candlemass which is in February.
I suspect some people might also be keeping lights up just because...

🙄😭this again!!!!

They are waiting for Candlemas

Am wondering how I have managed to get to be in my mid 40s without having ever heard of Candlemas before. Apart from on two MN threads like this is the last week.

I've left our outside lights up because I felt they would make January seem (slightly ) less gloomy. Took the tree down on 6th January.
In some European countries it traditional to have "winter lights" rather than xmas lights.

There has been a few of the same recently. Nice to read I'm not the only person who has left their tree up though

I'd be happy to see fairy lights up all year as they're pretty. I wouldn't want to have a tree still up now myself but not bothered if others do if it makes them happy.

@Littlemissweepy

Am wondering how I have managed to get to be in my mid 40s without having ever heard of Candlemas before. Apart from on two MN threads like this is the last week.

Same here, 43 and nobody has ever mentioned it in living memory til 2021.

I’m really pleased there’s still lights up. It’s one of my favourite things about winter and it makes January less bleak.
I draw the line at trees, though!

I can’t wait for bloody candlemass so these threads stop, at least 2 a week! Ffs let people be and kind your own business!

Well, I guess if some people can put up their decorations on 1 December - 24 days before Christmas - or even before, others can leave their decs up an equal number of days after - although that has now been reached!

We left ours up until this weekend just because they are pretty (I thought). Had intruders in the back garden though so I wonder if they thought the house was empty as we’d left them up.

I disagree OP, I think in the current circumstances everyone should just mind their own business and leave other people to do what makes them happy.

Personally I think it’s weirder that some people put them up in November

We have most of our décor down but Kept DS2's tree up in his bedroom, 6ft fibre optic one. If his blinds are up you can see it flashing from outside. He loves it, it doesn't bother me, it's not in the way and it will probably be up all year. Each to their own I guess.