After a challenging and unexpected year, twinkling lights and glistening baubles bought some much needed colour and merriment into people's lives and homes. Although you can take your decorations down whenever you like, according to tradition there is a 'correct' date to it.
If you are superstitious you might take the deadline more seriously, as it's believed that it can bring bad luck into the New Year if you don't. If you opted for a real tree instead of an artificial one it is best to find the nearest recycling location. This way once you've removed all the decorations you have somewhere to take it.
Most people take a visit to their local tip with the Christmas tree as all household waste disposal and recycling centres have the facility for it be recycled. It's also a good opportunity to get rid of all the wrapping paper, cardboard boxes and bubble wrap from the big day.
When should I take the tree and decorations down?
The Twelfth Night (January 5) is widely considered to be the last day of the Christmas festivities (eve of the Epiphany). According to superstition it is bad luck to leave your decorations up after the 5th. This belief stems back to the olden days when people used to decorate their homes with ivy and holly.
They used to think tree spirits lived in the greenery and made sure all their festive ornaments and trimmings were taken down in the first week of the New Year to set them free. If the custom wasn't followed it was said to affect the vegetation and greenery for the next twelve months.
The day of the Epiphany is January 6 and in Christian religions it celebrates the time the Three Wise Men (also referred to as Magi) visited baby Jesus - it also remembers his baptism.
What is the best way to store an artificial tree?
If you have an artificial tree the best way to store it is in the cardboard box it came in. If you've had your tree for some time and have lost the box you can buy a pack of boxes. Keep baubles, tinsel and other ornaments and decorations in plastic boxes to avoid them being crushed. If you have glass or porcelain ones wrap them in tissue paper or bubble wrap first so they don't crack.
Once everything is packed up place the boxes in a cool, dry place.
