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 have clicked on Christmas eve but Christmas starts on Christmas day and runs till 6th Jan. The rest of December (and some of November usually) is advent which is equally exciting and is about getting ready for Christmas. I get that isn't not not a religious festival for most people but I am sad when I hear that Christmas is over on boxing day in lots of homes.

I'd really love to go on to 12th night but I think it would be too difficult to get my DC into the right frame of mind for returning to school while at the same time acting like it's still the Christmas season.

For me Christmas starts 1st December, that's when advent starts, tree and all decorations go up and we start watching Christmas films all the way up. I do like to take them down usually on the 2nd January. Growing up our tree and decorations went up the day after bonfire night! It was unual then to be so early but my mum loved it and they stayed up until 12th night.

December christmasy things start with us but decorations don't go up until either the weekend the kids finish school or if they are finishing super later the weekend before. They then stay up until 5th Jan as I like Christmas to be done before one of the kids birthday's on the 6th.

The Nine Lessons and Carols service brings me to tears, it's absolutely stunning

I adore Christmas and put up my tree and decorations on the first week in December and take them down - reluctantly- on 6th Jan

I'm late 30s and was a child in the late 80s/early 90s.
Christmas always started in December with advent calendars on 1st and tree going up on the first Sunday of the month. Decs came down on 2nd or 3rd Jan and the period between Christmas and new year was always full of people. We used to see pretty much all of both sides of my family in that week and it was great.

The changes in dates don't bother me (although I will never be one of those who declares Christmas over on Boxing Day) but the shift in expectations around decorations and experiences are more what I've noticed.

For example, growing up we had a tree, a holder for Christmas cards and lights around our living room windows. We saw Santa at the local fayre, went to the panto and would watch a Christmas film or 2.

Now it seems more usual to have more than 1 tree, outside decs, ornaments everywhere, Christmas bedding, cushions, blankets, plates, tablecloths, jumpers, PJs, light trails, Santa visit, Santa train, Christmas Eve boxes etc.

I'm guilty of joining in on some of these so it's not a judgement but a definite change I've noticed in the last 10 years or so.

Sorry… I read this that your friends were bent double by Christmas night!🤣🤣

I’ve had some festive night like that in my younger years!!

That probably happened too with some of them to be fair.

I put decs up 1st December onwards. Christmas starts Christmas Eve and ends New Years Day for me when I start taking decs down. I try and have everything put away before 6th.

I starting planning in November, a bit of prep happens end of November and towards end of November some subtle fairy lights go up and candles become more of a thing. More in a hygge way than Christmas though. Christmassy things can creep in from 1st December onwards (I have 5 young DC and obvs that's the day they start their advent calendars). We make a thing of the first Sunday in advent. I try to keep Advent as a time of anticipation and a slow build towards Christmas, which for me begins on Christmas Eve. We keep the 12 days of Christmas and that takes some organising on my part as there clearly has been a shift in culture/tradition (which is fine) and a lot of people try to make plans with us for family visits, plays, ballet, outings etc in the run up but I do my best to resist where possible and book all the above in the 12 days so it's really the fortnight of fun I remember as a child. We do see some people in the run up, but I try to keep things minimal anyway and not get swept into the frenetic pace (which is also fine, just not my thing).

A lot of other families we know with children of the same ages seem to do so much in the run up to Christmas, from early November onwards and so by Boxing Day they just want to stay at home in PJs mostly for the rest of the Christmas holidays.

I don't believe I've ever on Mumsnet on Boxing Day but I can imagine every year someone starts a thread that day expressing their satisfaction at all the decorations being put away and the house all tidy and christmas being over 😄

Yep! Happens every year. Bonus points for the words 'fresh for the new year' or some variation thereof.

I see Christmas as a season with a few different parts.

Christmas build up - from Thanksgiving weekend to 23 December. We put the tree up on thanksgiving weekend.

Actual Christmas - 24-30 December

New Year and post Christmas chill out - 31 Dec to whenever we go back to work.

I love it all and try to have all my Christmas presents bought by the end of November so I can properly enjoy it. We take most of our decorations down before new years eve as we like the feeling of a fresh clean house for new year. We do often leave up some of the twinkly lights into January though.

I'm don't count all the prep as part of the Christmas season. I'll start buying non-perishables in late September or October just because I personally prefer multiple smaller shopping trips than one big one later.

I was talking to my mother (in her 80s) recently about Christmas drifting earlier to how it used to be. She was telling me how when she was a child nothing much happened before Christmas Eve, and it was after Christmas Day that people held parties, went to the pantomime etc. Now that all happens before the big day. It's an interesting cultural shift.

I like to think of Christmas as a season that builds up gradually from the beginning of December, peaks Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, and then gradually climbs back down again until 6th Jan.

It starts on Christmas Eve for us. We decorate the tree then and attend Christingle in the afternoon. We celebrate until Twefth Night....but I would keep going until Candlemas if DH would be willing!

We always put our tree up in the last week of Nov. We might go a week earlier this year, that was the discussion around the dinner table last night.

We are all abit Christmas mad in our house, so once our tree and other decs are up, we’re in full Christmas mode but I start feeling really festive as soon as I see lots of decorations around town and in shops tbh.

Christmas eve, growing up, was the most magical time, even more than the day itself. I think it was the anticipation and excitement building.
After Boxing Day, you could almost feel the festivities lulling down. It all feels calmer.
I get that similar feeling now. By New Year’s Day, I’m ok with taking the decorations down.

Haha! That's brilliant.

I'm happy for them though!

Christmas Eve for me!

Well Christmas is factually just Christmas.

It runs from the start of advent (4x Sundays before Christmas day) until Epiphany (12 days after Christmas day).

Different culture celebrate different parts as their main bits (common ones I know of being - St nick feast 6th Dec, Xmas eve 24th Dec, Christmas day 25th Dec, Epiphany/3 Kings/Wassail/Befana 6th Jan) but thats the range of Christmas dates.

I must admit personally I find the excitement wains after the 25th even though I think 12 days and 6th of January celebrations are really cool in theory I just find by January I'm in the 'winter blues'.

My tree is up in November (do not care at all what people think of that) it’s my house and my tree. The kids LOVE it. They are begging to put the tree up now. They love listening to Xmas songs and decorating the tree and the house. They don’t get bored of it being up so long, it’s so cosy. Dark nights early, cosying up on the sofa with the tree lights twinkling is our idea of heaven. Though it comes down around the 27th/28th.

Christmas starts December 1st and ends on New Years Eve here . That way the house is all normal and tidy for New Year .

Mid-December is when we get our tree and start feeling festive. I'd be sick of it if it went up any earlier. To be honest I've been getting less and less excited about Christmas every year and if we didn't have DC we probably wouldn't bother with it much at all.

The tree comes down around 3rd Jan as I like having it lit up for New Years. Although we're going away for NYE this year so it will probably come down just before.

Always when I finished work but this year will be my first as a retired person .

1st December to 1st January.
We have all our meet ups and events before Christmas day and then just enjoy relaxing and playing with DC new toys. Like the tree up for New Year’s Day still and then it’s down on the 2nd.