Okay, now that Halloween is over, are you itching to put up your Christmas tree ? Oh my goodness. Believe it or not, I’ve already seen people decorating theirs and getting in the holiday spirit , ha, ha!
Too soon? Well, you’re not alone. And as it turns out, there are certain rules about when you should be putting the tree up. Let’s find out what they are. Come on!
Let’s take a quick look at the history of Christmas trees.
For example, do you know when the tradition started? I know, me neither. Apparently, it was way back in the 16th century in Germany. Oh my gosh, I had no idea.
That’s when devout Christians would decorate trees in their homes.
But of course, it wasn’t quite the celebration that we have now. It all started with the Victorian times when people got into celebrating Christmas more lavishly as we do today.
The tradition back then was to put up the tree late in December.
It was more like Christmas Eve. Can you believe that? Oh my! I don’t think I would want to wait that long, ha, ha! How about you?
That’s actually a tradition that ancient Romans also adhered to.
How interesting, huh? What about today, you ask? When are you supposed to put up the tree in your household? As it turns out, it largely depends on where you live.
You see, people in America tend to stick to their own Christmas tree schedule.
For most of them, putting up the tree after Thanksgiving is the way to go.
On the other hand, many Christians around the world like to follow the Christmas Advent calendar to know when to put up their trees.
When is that, you ask?
Here’s how you figure it out. It’s basically the first Sunday of the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day. So that often falls somewhere between November 27 and December 3. That’s more like it, eh? I like that date range.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t see myself putting up my tree anytime before then.
I feel like I want to prolong the beautiful fall just a little bit longer. Does that sound good to you, too?
So what if you don’t fall under any of these categories I’ve mentioned before?
Well, a safe bet is to put up your tree anytime between the first Sunday or the second Saturday in December. Hmm, I can live with this reasoning here.
There’s even a superstition that putting up your Christmas tree too early is considered bad luck.
Traditionally, some people believed that decorating and putting up your tree before Advent Sunday or Christmas Eve would bring bad luck. Oh no! No one wants bad luck during the holidays!
And if you were wondering, there are also traditional dates to take down your tree, too.
Some people like putting their trees away as soon as possible, like, on December 26 (aka Boxing Day). I understand why some people do this, but that’s too early for me!
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However, Boxing Day isn’t the traditional date for taking down the Christmas tree.
Interestingly, January 6 is considered the proper date to take down the Christmas tree (which is good news for me because Boxing Day is too early to even think about taking it down).
The reason for January 6 marking the end of the Christmas season has to do with the 12 days of Christmas.
The 12 Days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day, meaning that January 6 is the last day and is known as the Feast of Epiphany.
So now you know all the correct dates for putting up and taking down your Christmas tree.
But, of course, everyone has their own reasonings and traditions for the holidays, so the main thing is to do what makes you happy. It is interesting to learn about all the traditional dates, though.
What do you think of this?
Is there a correct date to put up the Christmas tree? Or do you just do it on a whim and when you feel like it? Honestly, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t want to see it until December. But after that, it’s basically a free-for-all, hee-hee!