'The Twelve Days' thing

[AInightingale]

I remember my mum remarking once that when she was a child (1940s into the 50s) that no-one put their Christmas tree up until Christmas Eve or the day before that. Granted, it was a real tree, and they don't last (plus most had real candles on them, so I daresay the less time they were up the better). The tree and a few decorations then stayed up until 6th January. Does anyone remember any elderly relative saying similar? I just ask because I have a couple of neighbours with their decorations up already (some have been up since the day before Hallowe'en) and it absolutely riles me because it's autumn, and Christmas is a winter festival - to me the overkill detracts massively. I could most definitely return to the old ways, I probably would if I lived alone!

Not weird just truthful. Decorating for winter was taken by Christmas. It was a winter solstice ritual. Bringing the green inside. Therefore to hold the decoration to the time scale of Christianity is incorrect. You jumped on my statement and said I was calling the celebration of christs birth pagan. That is simply untrue.

As a child it tended to go up the weekend before Christmas so that could have been 24th depending on how things fell. It always stayed up until 12th night.

As an adult it goes up a little earlier if it’s an artificial tree and closer to Christmas if it’s a real one. It doesn’t come down until 12th night.

Why does people doing things in their own homes, that makes them happy, rile you?

Exactly. Our tree went up the last weekend before Xmas as a child (80s). Down before we went back to school, definitely. It ruins the magic for it to become a 6-8 week extravaganza! There’s nothing special about something that becomes the norm for two months.

As a child the tree went up one or two weeks before Christmas and depended on when the weekend was as we needed our Dad's car to collect the real tree. Always came down 4th or 5th of January. Any later was considered bad luck.

As an adult the fake tree went up first weekend of December as we needed STBXH to haul everything out of the attic. Everything put away by 4th or 5th of January. I will be doing the same now we are separated as the boxes are in the spare room and not the attic (clever huh?). I like pretty lights and sparkly things but these belong in December imo.

But it doesn’t have anything to do with Ancient Rome. The Romans never came to my country. There was just a winter solstice festival that long predated Christianity, and whose timings Christianity adopted when it arrived much later.

I mean, I can’t help it if widespread archaeological remains and their dating mess with your delusions.

Mine still goes up the weekend before if I can, although if that was the 24th I'd probably go for the one before that, and down on twelfth night. DD3's birthday is on the 21st though and although I'd like to separate birthday from christmas by decorating after her birthday, she wants decs up before! So we discuss every year but never go very early and would never take them down earlier

By the 70s the tree might go up a bit before Christmas Eve

by the mid 70s we had lights not candles

and it stayed up into January

and the celebration lasted the whole 2 weeks

we tend to carry on that way still/ the anticipation is part of the fun. Delayed gratification is good for you

As far as I remember, everyone left putting up their decorations for as long as possible, mainly because it was a different species of conifer used for Christmas trees then, and they dropped their needles at lightning speed. If you put your tree up too soon, it would be bald come Christmas Day. My dad used to buy our tree on the Saturday before Christmas and keep it with the base of the trunk in a bucket of water outside. It would come in and be decorated on Christmas Eve.

Yes for everything having to come down before 12th Night too.

That's so funny. Bless them.

I hate it being up past Christmas Day personally , for me Christmas finishes pre lunch on Christmas Day. I realise I am unreasonable in this of course.

In my quite unscientific observations, social demographics seem to dictate when a tree and decorations go up. And possibly how crappy one’s childhood was.

Mine usually up mid December but going up 6th December as we have Christmas lights booked on the 5th… share custody with ex-h so I’ll take them down around new year ready for two January birthdays…

Ours always went up on December 8th (feast of the immaculate conception) and down on January 6 (Epiphany). I still do it very similarly but can be earlier or later than December 8th.

In the US, it seems a lot of people put their trees up the day after Thanksgiving, so last Friday in November.

Don't know about dates for putting trees up but my sister always criticises me for taking mine down before 6th January

i think we’d have the tree up a couple of weeks before Christmas, back in ye olde Twentieth Century, usually on a weekend so that dad could untangle and fix the fairy lights and wedge the tree upright in a bucket. And everything came down and put away on 6th Jan. Any decorations left out have to stay out until Candlemas (2 Feb).

This is pretty much what I still do. Although the candle bridges, outdoor lights and wreath go up for Advent.

In my childhood home in the 80s the tree went up after we finished school. DM played a blinder and we had to tidy up before we were allowed to. So the half day was spent clearing up and that night /following day we did the decorations.

They came down 6th jan. Still do similar now but they cone down just after new year.

Im not even an old person (born 1984) and our tree went up on Christmas eve as children. I remember going to bed and the house looked the same any other night. Then in the morning... pure magic. Tree, lights, presents etc.

My ex was adamant that Christmas starts 12 days before 25th and ends 12 days "after". Despite that being more than 12 days

Nothing to do with me what people do in their homes.
However...front gardens with giant inflatable Santas, giant elves 'climbing' over guttering, coloured lights flashing until 10 pm, some thing that plays Jingle Bells on and off...wouldn't that piss you off? I mean it's only just gone Guy Fawkes Night! I have been out today sweeping up leaves fgs.

Yes, this used to be the norm and I know people who still do it.

I'd actually prefer to do it this way myself- at the moment it feels as if the start of Advent is celebrated as the start of Christmas so by the time you get to Christmas Day you're a bit sick of mince pies and carousing. I'd love to mark Advent properly as a time of preparation and reflection, and then decorate on Christmas Eve ready for the twelve days, but I think my family would have a riot. My Little Treat from Waitrose this morning was mince pies and panettone and we're barely into November.

Twelfth Night here too. Always have left it up until then - I find it really weird when people put their tree up in November and take it down on Boxing Day ... it's still Christmas!

We put the tree up on Christmas Eve until just a few years ago. I loved the way after all the bustle suddenly there was a quiet moment of magic with the dark night and lights on the tree. Now we put it up around 10 days before Christmas. Always down after 12th Night.
I cannot stand to see Christmas trees up in November. It completely detracts from the autumn which has its own mood and charm.

I don’t understand why people can’t just celebrate in the way that feels right to them, and let others do the same? Does it really upset you to see someone else’s decorations up earlier than you would choose? I couldn’t be one of those people who rips it all down on Boxing Day, but I don’t feel the need to judge those who do. Ours will be going up early this year because my Dad lives with me and has Alzheimer’s, he loves Christmas and the decorations will help keep him calm. I couldn’t give a dry fuck whether my neighbours think I should wait because it was better in the 1940s fgs. They’re free to do as they please with their own stuff.