And with that tradition comes permission (or maybe a delightful excuse) to keep the Christmas magic alive just a little bit longer. January 6th, also known as Epiphany, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to baby Jesus, marking the official end of the Christmas season in many traditions.
Why do people leave their Christmas trees up until January 6th?
- January 6: The Epiphany, a Christian holiday, is observed on this day. Taking down the decorations on or before January 6 is believed to prevent bad luck (3). It's important to note that these beliefs and superstitions vary among individuals and cultures.
Old Christmas is a folk tradition that hearkens back to the calendar change from Julian to Gregorian. When the calendar was changed to the current civil calendar, many people refused to change. It shifted the days by thirteen, so that, if you were still on the Old Calendar, December 25th fell on January 6th.
Is it unlucky to take down Christmas decorations before 6th January?
Twelfth Night is a Christian festival that takes place twelve days from Christmas Day, on 5 January. Many people believe is bad luck to leave your Christmas decorations up at this point. The twelve nights mark the coming of the feast of Epiphany on 6 January.
Date. In many Western ecclesiastical traditions such as the Lutheran and Anglican denominations of Christianity, Christmas Day is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days are 25 December – 5 January, inclusive, making Twelfth Night on 5 January, which is Epiphany Eve.
Do you leave your lights up until Old Christmas Day?
Why is January 6th a little Christmas?
The day is so called because, traditionally, men would take on what would have been seen as the traditional "female" household duties for the day, giving women the day off. Goose was the traditional meat served on Women's Christmas.
Why is it bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night?
The tradition that it is bad luck to keep decorations up after Twelfth Night and the Epiphany is a modern invention, although it may derive from the medieval notion that decorations left up after Candlemas eve would become possessed by goblins!
Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany.
According to a 2022 Home Decor report from Opendoor, nearly 85-percent of those surveyed said they take their decorations down sometime in January, with many of them citing New Year's Day as the target date. Fortunately, there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to taking your Christmas tree down.
When should you put your Christmas tree up and take it down?
Traditionally, Christmas trees and decorations are taken down on Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Twelfth Night is generally celebrated on the evening of the 5th of January. Twelfth Night is rooted in Christian tradition.
The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating. However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 6 to 4 BC.
According to Christian tradition, January 6 marks the day the three kings actually arrived in Bethlehem after Jesus was born, so this day signals the official end of the Christmas celebrations.
Why did Christmas change from January 6 to December 25?
The shift to the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in the late 1500s moved Christ's birthday to December 25th. However, some groups, including the Amish, continue to honor it on January 6th.
Why do Catholics celebrate Christmas until January 6th?
Even before 354, the Western Church had separated the celebration of the Nativity of Christ as the feast of Christmas and set its date as December 25; it reserved January 6 as a commemoration of the manifestation of Christ, especially to the Magi, but also at his baptism and at the wedding feast of Cana.
Can I take my Christmas tree down on the 5th of January?
Some people like to take them down immediately after the festive holiday, some people like to wait until a New Year's Day spring clean, and some people wait until the twelfth day of Christmas on the 5 January.
Folklore attributes the upside down tree to Saint Boniface, a Catholic priest who led a mission to Germany and central Europe in the 7th century AD where he used the upside down tree to symbolize the Holy Trinity. By the 12th century the upside down tree was popular in many homes in north and central Europe.
Why do people wait until January 6 to take down Christmas decorations?
According to Christian tradition, January 6 marks the day the three kings actually arrived in Bethlehem after Jesus was born, so this day signals the official end of the Christmas celebrations.
Most religious sources recommend waiting till at least the third Sunday of Advent. Looking at Christmas tree history, any day until Christmas Eve is fine to put your tree up.
Obviously, the exact date of Christ's birth has not been historically established—it is neither recorded in the Gospels. However, historically, all Christian churches celebrated Christ's birth on January 6th until the fourth century.
As Robert Hiscock, the writer behind a blog called Product of Newfoundland, explains, it's based on an old calendar error. "It's called Old Christmas Day because once upon a time we followed a different calendar, and that calendar was wrong," Hiscock told CBC News.
The Christian holiday of Epiphany (a.k.a. Three Kings' Day, January 6th) commemorates the day the three kings finally arrived to give their gifts to the Christ child.
The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the Twelve Days of Christmastide, are the festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity. Christmas Day is the First Day. The Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, counting first and last.
Twelfth Night traditionally falls on the evening of 5 January, marking the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. This period begins with Christmas Day and leads up to the celebration of Epiphany on 6 January.
When should Christmas decorations be taken down in 2025?
That means you can enjoy the twinkling lights for a little while longer because Twelfth Night falls on either Sunday 5th or Monday 6th January 2025 – and the dates depend on tradition. Be warned though: leaving your Christmas decorations up after this date is thought to bring bad luck.
