Why do people put their Xmas trees etc up now then take them down Boxing Day

[Beon]

If they say that they are sick n tired of the sight of them or find it difficult to clean around them.

Don’t put the tree up early then!

It does if they whinge on about the consequences of their choices!

I think very few people see Boxing Day as the start of Christmas, the shops are full of Christmas stuff by late September, the Xmas TV ads are on as soon as November arrives. By 27th Dec I think most of us are tired of Xmas food and fragrance ads, fed up of Christmas tunes etc. and when 27th falls on a week day, that's a lot of us back at work.

Oh, that's so sad. He/she should definitely get his/her tree.

But then surely these people aren't putting there decorations up on the 1sr november

This is me. Purely because I adore the build up, adore the day. Then it’s over. New year, fresh clean house.

When DS1 was small and I had absolutely no money, I used to get whatever tree was left over at the greengrocers on Christmas Eve, and we’d spend the evening decorating it. I wouldn’t take it down until 12th night because it was a beautiful thing.

It’s slightly earlier now maybe mid December), but I still like to leave it up until the 6th.

People have different reasons for their tree traditions.

I have a clean house, my Christmas tree does not make it unclean.

I definitely don't, 1st Dec for me. But for those that do put them up 1st Nov it's got to be a novelty worn off by the time they've had them up nearly two months

I don't think it's about cleanliness as such, but once Xmas is over, it becomes clutter for some of us. For people that have real trees, they are probably sick of an increasingly threadbare tree dropping needles, sometimes my cats have messed about with the bottom of my tree that much that it looks a bit messy. Once Xmas feels over, it's just something that's in the way for some of us.

& that's obviously fine too.

but look for yourself at all the posts saying CLEAN, they can't clean properly or they want the house clean etc.

its not just about wanting the excess stuff put away.

When is Christmas over?? That seems very different these days. Certainly not Christmas Night of Boxing Day, in any traditional sense.

i don't care what anyone else dies ! I'll keep doing what makes me happy. However I will maintain my house is CLEAN, even with my 🌲 & decorations up & people saying otherwise need to realise you can clean with them up, just because they choose not to, doesn't make other peoples houses unclean.

I don't need them to be a 'novelty'.

I put them up because I like them, I enjoy the light my traditional lights give off, I enjoy my decorations gathered over the years, the memories they bring back.

'Novelty' doesn't come into it.

This. Starting the build-up to Christmas so early spoils it for me. I avoid the shops at this time of year as it's relentless.

Do these people also send Valentine's cards in January and celebrate Easter in February? What's the hurry?

I definitely eat easter eggs before easter Sunday. Does that count?

It should be illegal to put up Christmas trees and decorations more than 12 days before Christmas. Including in shops etc.

That's just ridiculous. If you want to stick to traditions, that's absolutely fine but you can't force everyone else to do the same and especially in their own homes.

It seems odd to me, too.

There are traditionally 12 days of Christmas, with Christmas Day being the first day and January 5th the last day.

When I was a child, everyone kept their trees and decorations up until January 5th, regardless of when they had put them up.

Most people I knew would put up their Christmas tree about a week before Christmas - and that's what I still do.

Inside their homes, fair enough. But not the extravagant displays outside homes, in gardens, on rooftops etc. Those are just visual pollution and need to be cracked down on.

How would it be enforced?

Don’t be such a misery , if you don’t want to see it then stay in your house , other people are entitled to do what they like on their own property .

You're being hypersensitive here! Of course it's a novelty to put decorations up! When people are going into these Xmas shops every year and buying new decorations to add to their house, it's a novelty, you give a kid a Christmas present they play with it straight away because it's a novelty but that novelty eventually wears off! Do you think if everybody had decorations still up in April that it would still be a novelty! Things feeling a novelty is part of human life!

I love travelling but if I did it constantly, it wouldn't feel like a treat, it wouldn't feel as exciting, I'd get sick of airports and flights - because travelling & going to a new place is a novelty but if I did it every day of my life, it's not going to be so novel and would become more of a chore. People don't cover the outside of their houses in lights for any sentimentality, it's novelty and often contest with other neighbours.

Christmas was about feasting. I think that you need to look up the origins, as a Pagan celebration.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas

If you aren't a practising Christian, they are doing Christmas properly. It was all about the decorating and eating, even when the Church finally recognised Christmas, because they couldn't scare the pagans out of celebrating.

It's interesting reading what everyone does. I usually start Christmas around two weeks before (get the tree up by 11th Dec) and take it down on 6th, but I have a tendency to keep using the fairy lights on the window for a while as it's dark and it makes the bedrooms look lovely. The kids have a tree in their rooms too, DS15 didn't take it down last year, but he switched the lights back on the other day and was like "I'm ready early". He's autistic and it makes him happy to just keep his little tree there. I don't properly think about Christmas until a couple of days before, and DH says I keep the Christmas treats hidden away for too long

I think a lot of it depends, as well as whether people are working the days in between, whether they enjoy the feel of the days between Christmas and New Year, that sort of 'limbo' feel. Personally I love it, after Christmas Day it's the best part of the festive season for me, but I do realise it probably wouldn't feel as special if I wasn't able to take time off work.

Blimey.

im glad you don't get to make the laws in this country. If you'd make this illegal I'd hate to think what else you want to control.

Funny you should mention entitled in the same sentence as ordering people to stay in their homes if they don't want to see ugly outdoor displays.

Tbf I disagree with pp that they shouldn't be allowed - everyone should get to decorate (or not) as they see fit - but we don't all have to like it (and I particularly abhor flashing lights and those awful blue lights, which don't say Christmas to me at all). Personally I think less is more when it comes to outdoor Christmas lighting, but I seem to be in the minority these days.