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!

I agree that this is something that has been creeping in and I am not keen. I also wonder if it contributes to people who get extremely protective of Christmas Day (ie resentful of seeing in laws etc). My mum has always been adamant that Christmas is a season not just a day which I find really helpful - as a busy mum (like many of us) I enjoy the build up to Christmas but also value some days of calm afterwards. We have hosted quite a number of people for years and it is great to relax afterwards, but we also see and visit other friends and family members. I do work in education though so I have time off - I can imagine that if you work in retail having a small Christmas Day in pyjamas might be strongly desired!

I agree.

I like to start Christmas preparations late - say, a week before - and keep the decorations up till at least NY. That keeps it special. It has to be special and having decorations up for 2 months kills that dead.

For those explaining their starting Christmas in early November‘because they love Christmas “ - this makes no sense! If you love Christmas, then why not celebrate Christmas, which has 12 days, starting on 25 December? From 1 to 24 December, it’s Advent. It can only be one of 2 reasons:

• they are total victims of retail propaganda and manipulation or
• they’re the sort of people who have to be first, cannot defer gratification and then announce they’re bored with something, just at the time it’s actually appropriate to celebrate.

Or a 3rd reason.

They enjoy the build up to Christmas and all celebrations are over for them by boxing day, they are also back to work the next day so Christmas very much feels over, Advent or not.

Why is it not special to other families if they don’t do it your way?

Well pardon me for expressing my opinion!

Isn’t this a discussion? Or have I misunderstood? I can hardly express YOUR or anyone else’s opinion. So here’s mine, and welcome to it.

But they’ll also be at work for most of November and December- during their marathon “build up”.

I think they just respond to the advertising and the timetable set by retailers. It’s analogous to the sudden change to holiday commercials on telly by Christmas Day tea-time.

I think the Continent gets it right - they don’t do the long, long pre-Christmas Christmas which happens here.

You don't need a retailer to decide by yourself that you want to be ready for a new Year by the 01st of January and prefer to get rid of everything before that.

Retailer or not, I am not in the mood for Christmas decorations and trees after Christmas, I like to chuck my tree on Boxing Day or the 27th. Even if it means the tree is there for 48h, which is a bit of a waste

And I was asking why you thought Christmas wouldn’t be special if people celebrate it differently from you?

But some people are saying their favourite part of Christmas are the days afterwards with more celebrations, eating snacks and the such like which isn't likely to happen if you don't have those days off of work so it's going to feel more ''normal'' if you are back at work AND the build up is also over.

Or a fourth explanation - they have no clue about advent (other than overpriced calendars) or the rhythm of the Christmas period - and don't care!
Oops wrong quote!

I couldn’t care less about Advent. We start Christmas celebrations on 6 December - Sinterklaas.

I like the Dutch tradition of the special Christmas day for children. I also like that Sinterklaas looks a bit different from Father Christmas - more like a bishop with a straight beard. Not sure of the Black Pete in blackface though. Or the shops playing "De Zak van Sinterklaas" over and over again. It is not a song that gets better with repetition.

Of course there could only be two possible reasons. They are either stupid or have no self-control. There can be no other possible reason.

People have many different reasons for doing what they do and you have just exposed your ignorance and intolerance by boiling them down to two (negative) reasons.

Neer heard of Boxing Day being the limit. Traditionally, Christmas trees come down on Twelfth Night (January 5th) or Epiphany (January 6th), marking the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, but many people leave them up longer, often through mid-January, while some keep them until February (Candlemas), and a few even until Easter.