When does Christmas 'proper' start, in your opinion?

[ruethewhirl]

Just curious about this as I've noticed it's becoming more and more of a thing for people to say Christmas is over right after Boxing Day and to take their decs down round about that time too.

The reason I'm curious is just that it differs so much from how I remember Christmases as a child in the 1970s. I'm in my 50s and although there was always a build-up to Christmas it never used to start anywhere near as early. The adverts might have been pushing Christmas from about October or November, but in terms of decorations going up, Christmas music being played, etc - not so much until we got into December. I also feel like there was more of a distinction between Advent and Christmas itself back then (despite the plethora of advent calendars around today! 😄)

These days far more people seem to start saying 'it's Christmas' as soon as it gets to December, and consider it to be over and done with by Boxing Day. When I was a child it was advent until Christmas Eve, and then the Christmas period pretty much lasted until Jan 6th, encompassing New Year's as part and parcel of the season, with many/most people leaving their decs up till then. And to this day, the period from Christmas Eve onwards is my favourite bit, because all the stressy preps are over and it's time to just relax and enjoy the festive season. For this reason I'd never take my decs down before Twelfth Night, as old-fashioned as that probably makes me. 😅

None of this is being said in criticism of current traditions, btw - I know times change, and people should celebrate Christmas exactly however they want to, or not at all if that's their preference. I just find it an interesting phenomenon how the dates seem to have shifted so to speak, also curious to know if others around my age remember 'bygone' Christmases the same way I do. (Oh crikey, I said 'bygone', next step's a rocking chair I guess. 😅)

Thoughts?

I get a real tree which needs a drink in the garden for a week before going up. So that when it starts.
I love all the lights up for New Years Eve and I take them down the weekend after or when school starts whichever is first.

I currently on holiday. It couldn't be further Christmas here. Dreading going back to the constant commercialised shite that started up before I left.

DS birthday is 15 December, so normally weekend after that or thereabouts. Usually 21/22 ish

Xmas for us is after my DS's bday (Dec 2nd). After that the Dec's go up and Xmas celebrations begin. And the Dec's don't come down until they go back to school.

Quite traditional really.
Christmas organisation for me starts at the beginning of November (buying gifts, cards and non-perishable items like chocolates, chutneys, pickles, biscuits and booze etc). I refuse to even think about it before then as it feels less special to me if the festivities begin too early.
Christmas decorations and the tree go up mid-December, otherwise I would be sick of the sight of them before Christmas Day.
Food shopping for perishable items perhaps up to a week before Christmas, but earlier for some stuff if I can freeze.
I like the decorations to stay up till New Year, as we always have a big family dinner, but will take them down after that. They usually come down the first weekend after NYD, but always by 12th night depending on how the days fall.I
Everything is then clear and tidy before we return to work and we can start the New Year on a positive note.

I'd love it if Christmas started on 20/12 and ended on 27/12.

Sadly it seems to drag on for a quarter of the year at least. It's hard for those who find it a tough time of the year.

I try to buy bits and pieces throughout the year but use leftover hols to go Christmas shopping during the first week of December.

I make, ie sew and knit Christmas decorations from September but I used to sell at Christmas Fairs. In November I plan my food and cooking with cookery books.

Decorations go up the weekend before Christmas and come down for Epiphany. Advent calendars, ready to go on 1st of December.

For me the planning, prep and giving make the fun and the enjoyment.

I agree with this. I have to take the tree and decorations down on New Years Day. I love to make a fresh start on the year.

I'm 43 and never consider it to really "be Christmas" until around the 23rd, especially the years I'm working on Christmas Eve, and definitely don't take decorations down until after new year. I like the between Christmas and New Year period because my work closes and we just have family time and chill

We put our lights (lights outside) and tree up around 23rd November, we don’t specifically put Christmas songs on until the 1st but if they come on before that we don’t turn them over either. I personally get into the Christmas spirit more once we’ve done the first advent. We used to leave our tree up until 6th as DS birthday is 5th and he loved it still up, now he’s a grumpy teen he’s said he doesn’t mind anymore so last year we did it on New Year’s Day. For me it’s still Christmassy between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, I might not know what to do with myself, with that weird limbo feeling but I love watching all the classic movies that used to be on around Christmas. Chitty chitty bang bang, Mary poppins etc..

I used to say it was the end of the school term when the Christmas events were on, but nowcI don't have any school aged children I guess it's when they come home from University. We have always put our tree and decorations up on the last Saturday before Christmas and take them down on 6th Jan.

I don’t even think about it until December.

We always have a big Christmas party a week or so before (21st this year), so the trees will be done just before that. I really don’t get people who take it all down on Boxing Day; that’s so joyless. But I also can’t fathom having Christmas decs up for weeks and too early.

I usually take the trees down on 2nd Jan as they’re looking a bit dry by then and we’re about to go back to work.

Interesting to hear so many are still leaving their decs up longer! Last Christmas I seem to remember so many people saying they took theirs down on the 26th or 27th. I seem to find that the decs help a lot with my SAD, so that's another excuse to leave them up longer. 😄 They’re typically up from the beginning of December through to whenever I get bored of them, usually around mid-January. I have considered leaving them up until Candlemas but never quite managed it, as they tend to start looking silly once they’ve been up past a certain point. 😄

Works Xmas party 12/12
Tree up 14/12 till 12th night.

Christmas Eve for me. I do put the tree up a couple of weeks before that because my son likes it. I have normally done all the gift shopping by the beginning of November. I can't relax and enjoy it until Xmas eve though. Tree stays up until New Year's Day and then it comes down.

Starts 24th December, ends at midnight 25th December.

I’m 60 this year, and the span of Christmas has certainly changed over my lifetime!
Im a November birthday and you daren’t mention Christmas til
well after my birthday… in fact Christmas didn’t get going until we got into December. We didn’t take the tree down til Jan 6th and a lot of the shops shut mid- afternoon Christmas Eve until Jan 2nd..Life seemed to slow right down in the Twixmas, we just went for walks and played with our toys.

Now as soon as Bonfire Night has passed, it’s full-on downhill to the Big Day on the 25th!! 🎄 Yet after Boxing Day, the Christmas word is banished! There is the little flurry of NYE, but that’s it!!
Such a difference to my younger years… wonder how it will end up over the next 50 years?

I've just noticed that the chocolate orange I bought today is in a Christmas box. It's still September! Now that is ridiculous by anyone's standards.

• Christmas shopping/planning starts : 6th Nov. Have to get Bonfire Night done first
• Xmas Decs up/start getting festive: 1st Dec
• Get the tree (real): 7th ish Dec
• Xmas season over/decs down: 5th Jan

In my youth yes I think the tree went up about ten days before at the earliest, though I think we did wait til 12th night to take it down.
Now I put up the tree first weekend in December. I'm very sick of it by 12th night though and if it stays up til then it's because I'm too lazy to take it down earlier.

I think that it might be more that people don’t refer to Advent much any more, so the activities associated with the run-up to Christmas are now called Christmas as well (e.g. advent calendar, Christmas concerts, Nativity plays).

Because of my daughter, we start to decorate for Christmas on the first weekend in December. I sing, so have a lot of Christmas-related activity throughout December.

However, it’s only when 9 Lessons and Carols is broadcast on Christmas Eve, that I feel that Christmas is nearly here. I like to be prepping the veg for Christmas Day whilst listening. And I feel it is properly Christmas when my daughter is (finally) in bed with the stocking hung, and refreshments for Santa and reindeer laid out. If I am working on Christmas Eve, then it’s only when I come in and see the decorations and the stocking and realise that I can stop for Christmas that I feel Christmassy. Until then I just feel stressed.

I usually am back to work between Christmas and New Year, but decorations stay up until 12th Night, and I try to hang onto Christmassyness until then.

I am lucky to no longer need to work on Christmas Day itself. I do have to say that Christmas always did feel different than all the other bank holidays even when I was at work. In some ways, I felt that people were more kindly disposed and thankful for you. In some ways, it was worse because, when devastating things happened, they seemed worse because it was Christmas, and you knew it would mark the family’s future Christmases too.

When I was a child 20th December felt like the start of Christmas - tree went up and we started preparing for visitors, baking etc.
I agree with the PPs who said that advent and Christmas seem to have merged into one. We have some advent traditions - our local church has an advent service on the first Sunday, we burn an advent candle at home. But we also go to school carol concerts, local Christmas Fair and have adopted the 'North Pole breakfast ' on the final weekend before Christmas. Tree and decorations start to go up mid-month. But 20th December still has that ttingle of excitement!

The not putting up decorations until Christmas Eve makes more sense when you think how trees used to be much smaller and a string of 20 lights was a big deal when they first became available. With modern decorations it seems like an awful lot of effort for something thats going to be taken down again so soon so it makes sense to do the beginning of December.

I don't get why you'd want to take them down when it's still December. We always aim for just before DC go back to school which is often depressingly early enough.

That said last year some of my friends with real trees got a bad batch and were almost bent double by Christmas night so I understand why they took their trees down on Boxing Day.

DS has a birthday on 23rd November. I don’t want it overshadowed so Christmas planning starts day after.

In our house we usually start on the first weekend of December with tree going up, mince pies, mulled wine, and a Christmas film. We also start the Christmas card and present shopping around then too.

We then do Christmassy activities (panto, carol concerts etc.) from when the schools break up until Xmas eve.

We usually just have lots of family time between Xmas eve and new years, and then take all our decorations down and have a big clean on Christmas Eve.

The usual for most people seems to be 6th Jan which I understand as it's the 12th night, but personally I'm done with it and ready for a clean, normal house to bring in the new year.

We all work term-time only and personally I find it really depressing going back to work while it's still "Christmas" hence all the decs being gone by the time we go back.

12 days before and 12 days after, always have