According To Tradition - Christmas Decorations

Why can’t you just take them down when you’ve had enough of them?! I usually take ours down on or around January 1st because to me by then it’s all over. Colder European countries I have visited call them winter decorations and don’t seem to take them down until February. Surely the choice is yours.

Dearknees1

It’s the 7th and we have a visitor so wanted to keep our decorations up until the end of the visit later today. We’ll risk the bad luck!

Dearknees1: Are you my neighbour

I also took mine down yesterday (6th) it looks so bare now.

I see my neighbour opposite still has Christmas ornaments and lights up though.

My DIL also told me her neighbour/friend took theirs down on Boxing day and they have 2 small children.

But as they say, each to their own

It’s the 7th and we have a visitor so wanted to keep our decorations up until the end of the visit later today. We’ll risk the bad luck!

Strictly , Epiphany according to Catholics so 6th January .
But our church decorations were taken down on 4th , because it was convenient .
I think that for most people it's a matter of convenience .
I took my outside ones down yesterday , but this year my real rooted tree is so pretty that I've left it up for now .
I've decided that I'm going to have an Easter tree !

One of my friends keeps her curtains closed out of embarrassment , because she loves her Christmas tree so much that it stays up until Easter when she can put more decorations up .
I thought hiw depressing the dark streets are now the twinkly lights are down .

My Mother firmly believed in everything down by 6th Jan. 41 years ago my Father died on 7th January and Mom found some Holly she had missed, said that was the bad luck causing his death that day! Ever since I always ensure all my decorations are down and packed away by 6th and scour the house to ensure nothing left. This year it was done by 2nd. I am by actually writing this on 7th!😢

Finished taking the decorations down yesterday 6th and now looks so bare and in need of a good clean and the annual New Year declutter. (I do several a year!) Nice big bag for the charity shop now! More to come I hope. Ruin it every year by buying a ‘treat’ for the home in the sales, something small but cheering that I can admire in the post Christmas barrenness! Last year it was a new lamp, this year it is a lovely black deer figure (I collect them). Will remind me of past celebration while looking ahead to a brighter New Year once my illnesses are hopefully resolved!

I take decorations down end of Dec, partly because otherwise they are up twice in one year but more importantly because my son's bday is at the beginning of January and when he was younger I wanted him.to have his own individual day, not lumped in with Christmas.
His due date was end January so caught us all out

It's always been the 6th January in our family and that was always referred to as 12th night. Interesting that someone tied it up to Catholic belief as my grandmother was a Catholic and very superstitious.

The gales brought our Christmas on the balcony down on New Year’s Eve breaking the base. So everything got taken down dismantled and put away neatly.
Ever thrifty DH loves having a tree even an artificial one so was soon off to the sales. Our last one had survived 30 years , so had cost us about £2 a year. The new one has cost the same, hope it will see us out.

Ours started coming down on 27th when our son, daughter and grandchildren left. All down now as we're away for a week. When they stayed longer or when they lived at home we took them down on 6th January.

I'm quite minimalist with decorations and have always taken them down by midnight on New Year's Eve....my mum did that and it was a 'habit' I adopted although my brother doesn't have any and my son leaves his until the 12th night.
Each to their own....

NotSpaghetti

Thank you Welshy.
They are quite simple to make and I love that they are so curvy and 3D.
I found a tutorial online. Mine are plain white this year (computer paper). The biggest are easiest and from A4 sheets. They come out at about 50cms - but the tiny ones were fiddly.

But well worth it

Ours came down this afternoon. All packed up and back in the garage. I was going to leave the lights outside in the hedge until the batteries died but Mr A had taken them down before I realised. The battery 'candles' will stay out until the batteries die. Loved having them up but now they're down I feel like we're moving forward into a new year.

Thank you Welshy.
They are quite simple to make and I love that they are so curvy and 3D.
I found a tutorial online. Mine are plain white this year (computer paper). The biggest are easiest and from A4 sheets. They come out at about 50cms - but the tiny ones were fiddly.

My daughter is coming round today to assist with the mammoth task of taking down the 5 trees and wall decorations . Always a sad day. But the dogs will be thrilled as they get their armchair back so can gaze out of the window.

We've had them up since the 1st December and I love it.

I'll be moody and gloomy this evening!

Ziplok

I can’t help wonder why some people bother, especially after seeing your photo, mokryna.
What’s the point of putting them up Xmas Eve (or a few days before) and taking them down around the 27th? They take a lot of time to put up, so if they are a trouble, why put them up in the first place? Why boast that you’ve put them up Xmas Eve and taken them down again by the 27th? Better not to bother at all, surely? Is it some kind of race to be last to put up and first to take down, I wonder? Seems a bit stupid to me, if that’s the case.

The putting up and taking down of decorations only has an effect of those living in the house so what does it matter to others when it is done.

I don't understand why you would think people are boasting if they only have them up a few days. I am not bragging when I say that I do not decorate my house at all.

All gone. Now to find the energy to clean up.

We’ve always put our tree and decorations up the week before Christmas. Everything came down yesterday - 4th. I worked at an Anglo Catholic Theological College and the tradition there was not to put the tree up until Christmas Eve and leave it until Candlemas.

NotSpaghetti

They were paper chains Welshy - two sorts, her own and some from a kit with little Christmas trees on.

I made some paper paroles in several sizes this year to hang in a big window.
Some had "tails" some were plain like this one.

NotSpaghetti - Oh they are very pretty.

Yes I have seen the paper chains in some stores.

We follow the 5th January as Twelfth Night.

They were paper chains Welshy - two sorts, her own and some from a kit with little Christmas trees on.

I made some paper paroles in several sizes this year to hang in a big window.
Some had "tails" some were plain like this one.

NotSpaghetti

Welshy my daughter in her 30s made some of these last year and saved them to re-use this year.

Hi Notspghetti - Was that the paper chains or the concertina type trimmings?

& hung them from the ceiling?

Welshy my daughter in her 30s made some of these last year and saved them to re-use this year.

Ziplok I think these tree were thrown out because the people had gone skiing the second week of the school holidays.