To hate having Christmas decorations up after Christmas

[Butterflyfluff]

I get it if you are very religious but I’m not

Christmas is a celebration for us but not for religious reasons so I’m happy to put decorations up early, in order to countdown to Christmas

But once Christmas is over, I want them gone.

I love it that there’s houses now with all their lights up already.

That makes far more sense to me than having them up in January when it’s all over.

What does christmas being over mean?

I class christmas as the holiday period so wouldn't take them down before Jan. Plus the council only collects christmas trees for recycling from 2nd Jan

@Huckleberries73

Ffs, no one cares It’s fucking November And there is a whole section just for Christmas

Applause

I do wish all this nonsense would stay where it belongs.

Ours stay up until 6th Jan. The three wise men don’t reach the crib until then.

I cling on to the 12th night tradition but I'm in the minority on our street these days. It's definitely all moving forwards.

[quote Moraxella]@Hollyhead yep it’s a peaceful lull for reflection, hanging with your family, cosy meals and reading nigel slater’s Christmas chronicles. January is so dreary that I’m all for decs up til 12th night.[/quote]
Totally this. All the main cooking done, presents done, time to relax and chill with decs up until 12tg night.

I shall try to stretch out having decorations up for as long as possible. This year I did a Halloween tree that I have just changed to a Christmas tree, it is not my main tree it is at the top of the stairs and the cat likes sleeping under it. My main tree will be going up on 2nd December which is a few days later than normal but I am having my carpets cleaned on the 1st so it will have to wait. Last year I left my tree up until February because I like it.

Oh and I am not remotely religious and there is nothing religious about my baubles.

I would never leave the tree up past Christmas but I think Christmas is 24 dec to 6 jan

I agree with pp , you do yours and let me do mine

To those questioning if that is really traditional, Whilst trees may be quite new, decorating house with evergreens is ancient tradition and certainly in Henry 8th time it was the 25 to 6 th that was the celebration time

I don't understand the rush to get the decorations up in November then all down by the 26th! Just enjoy the season ffs. Crazy.

@lollipoprainbow

I don't understand the rush to get the decorations up in November then all down by the 26th! Just enjoy the season ffs. Crazy.

Yes this is how I feel. We used to put our decs up on the 21st! We do now do them on about the 12th, they stay up until 12 night

@Kikkomam our tree is always up by 14th December a family tradition and down by 12th night!

Tree goes up the weekend before Christmas (although we have put it up the week before when Christmas day was a Monday) and comes down New Year's Eve, although nativity stays out until twelfth night.

We're in Scotland so there is a focus on the New Year and the house is cleaned and I like plenty of daffs and narcissi and candles in the house on New Year's day - hopeful start to the year.

I always take mine down on Hogmanay ready for going into the next year - it usually goes up on December 1st or thereabouts but this year it will be a few days earlier just because that's when we are all available to do it.

My family is Polish and Catholic (though I'm pretty much lapsed). We put decorations up on the first Sunday of Advent which, this year, is at the end of November and we don't take them down until the 6th. If we get a real tree we obviously don't keep that up for the full 5/6 weeks, so that would go up maybe a week before Christmas Day and come down with the rest. But lights around the house, paper chains, wreath on the door etc all fair game from the end of November.

I don't see why it's more cheerful to have decorations up in November than January when January is actually a more wintery, colder month than November - it's the 22nd today and this was the first morning I've had to scrape ice off my car. In Poland, traditionally some decorations stay up until Candlemas which is early February! But they don't go up as early.

I do think it's a shame that there's a divide between when people think Christmas ends - the poll on this is 50/50 at the moment which shows how much people disagree. I think one of the best things about Christmas whether you're religious or not is that everyone stops and rests and celebrates at the same time.

I think January is a much drearier month than November. When Christmas is behind you but spring is still a bit too far ahead. So I prefer to see decorations in January than November.

Crikey there are some uptight people on here. Here in Denmark people keep their outside winter lights up throughout jan and Feb and I noticed plenty of indoor decorations up too— just not trees

But the çhristmas period is 24th December until 5th January? So what do you mean, you want your decorations down before the end of the Christmas period?

I hate Xmas decs in my home. I'm not miserable, I love seeing family and sharing good food over the Xmas period but I just can't stand the clutter the decs create.

@tarasmalatarocks

Crikey there are some uptight people on here. Here in Denmark people keep their outside winter lights up throughout jan and Feb and I noticed plenty of indoor decorations up too— just not trees

Love Denmark. They just seem to do everything right 😂

@Dishwashersaurous

But the çhristmas period is 24th December until 5th January? So what do you mean, you want your decorations down before the end of the Christmas period?

For you the Christmas period is 24 Dec - 5 Jan. it’s obviously from this thread that many of us have a different period for our celebrations.

I am just waiting for people to start putting decorations up in September and taking them down on 1st Dec "to get ready for Christmas", like shops.

@Dishwashersaurous

But the çhristmas period is 24th December until 5th January? So what do you mean, you want your decorations down before the end of the Christmas period?

I actually celebrate Yule, which is 21st December to 1st January. I combine it with a more traditional Christmas for my DC because that's what my parents did for me and I loved it all.

However, my lights start going up in October as soon as the nights start drawing in. I love the twinkle and how it lifts our spirits. The tree and decorations come out mid November. Wreath on the door on December 1st because that's when I visit the cemetery and pop wreaths on family graves. Tree stays up well into January. It was actually February last year before everything came down, because it was such a drab start to the year and it all looked so nice. I had a living potted tree last year so no problems with dropping needles. This year I've defaulted back to the artificial one because the real pine played havoc with DSs allergies.

So I think it's safe to say there's all kinds of people on here who all do what suits them not what suits the calendar. Or anyone else for that matter!

For Christians, Advent is a 4 week period of spiritual reflection and preparation for the birth of Christ.
It is traditionally a time of self denial and prayer, like Lent before Easter.
Therefore for us, it makes no sense to preempt Christmas by starting to decorate in November! And I'm not surprised that PPs are tired with their decorations by Boxing Day, if they've already been up for a month.
I love the smell of a fresh cut fir tree - especially a Fraser fir - and it would be long gone and wilting by Christmas Day, if I put it up in November.
For some Christians, the presents are exchanged on Epiphany, to remember the gifts of the Magi, so they would certainly want the tree and decs to still be up in the twelfth day of Christmas.
Even for the majority of British Christians, who give gifts on Christmas Day, the subsequent days of celebrating Christ's birth are a time for family, to enjoy the special food and wine, to play with their gifts, etc. For mums, tired with all the preparation, it's ten days of easy buffet food, eating leftover turkey and luxury treats that don't require cooking.
Each to her own, but I like the old rhythm and logic of the traditional 12 days of Christmas.

You would hate it at mine then op as I really struggle to take mine down as I just love Christmas so much. They go up in the first week of December and if I'm on the ball they'll come down first week of January, sometimes a week or two after 🤷‍♀️

Ours go up at some point in the first few weeks of December depending on how busy we are and whether we have people visiting (sometimes friends come for an early fakemas before they are booked up with family nearer the actual festive period). I leave the decs up for New Year and the days after, they usually come down a day before the DC go back to school so that eldest has time to transition from Christmas hols mindset to school mindset.

I would feel a bit weird starting a new term at school with the decorations still up, but if the DC were older Id like to leave them up until twelfth night. Can't imagine not having them up for New Year, that would feel just wrong!

Traditionally domestic decorations went up on Christmas Eve and stayed until 6th Jan. It was shops and commercial interests that started putting them up earlier and earlier.
Everyone can please themselves but personally it gets on my nerves to see them going up before it's even December.
I like to keep them until after New Year so it looks festive for any visitors.
I do like the feeling of taking them down and the house looking back to normal.
If you put them up four weeks before Christmas I can see why you would get fed up of them.
When is "after Christmas for you-to me it's 2nd Jan to some people it's Boxing Day.