Why it’s alright to keep our Christmas decorations up (until February 2)

When should the Christmas decorations come down? I ask because it’s a small bone of contention in my house.

The week after New Year is so depressing I like to keep the tree and decorations up for as long as possible, and for as long as I can remember the date by which they ‘have’ to come down - or risk bad luck - is January 6, or Twelfth Night.

My wife however disagrees and insists that Twelfth Night is January 5 (ie today). Well, it turns out we’re both right. It simply depends on when you start counting.

Some people think the twelve days of Christmas start with Christmas Day. Others believe they begin on Boxing Day.

To be honest, I’d never given it a moment’s thought but, thinking about it now, it does seem more logical for Christmas Day to be the first day of Christmas.

But that would mean changing the habit of a lifetime and at my age I simply refuse to take the tree and decorations down a day earlier than I have to.

In fact, why take them down today or tomorrow? According to Dr Michael Carter, English Heritage’s Senior Properties Historian:

… contrary to popular belief, the Christmas season actually continues right through to Candlemas on 2 February so there's no real reason why you should take your decorations down earlier.

Furthermore, he adds:

The tradition that it is bad luck to keep decorations up after Twelfth Night and the Epiphany is a modern invention …

What I don’t understand is why it’s become acceptable to put the Christmas decorations up earlier and earlier, but frowned upon to keep them up beyond January 5 or 6.

Personally I would be happy to leave them up until the end of the month at least. Instead I shall be one of millions of people dutifully taking down their trees and decorations, and feeling momentarily bereft.

(Last year, to fill the void left by our Christmas tree, I rushed off to John Lewis and spent £400 on a beautiful oak floor lamp, so that was some consolation.)

So why do we do it? Why are we so keen to conform? It can’t be a genuine fear of bad luck, surely?

All I know is, come tomorrow afternoon, even the seasonal Emma Bridgwater pottery will have been packed away along with the lights, the baubles, and everything else that made the house so festive and cheerful for the past five weeks.

Welcome to January … the most miserable month of the year.

Comments

[Rose2]

I counted the Solstice on the 22rd of December this year as the start of Christmas, so I was relieved to take the decorations down on New Years Day as they were beginning to block the slowly growing light.

I've been sorting out the vegetable patch for the last two days as it's finally stopped raining here.
Happy New Year, Simon to you and yours.