When does Xmas start in you`re house?

[Margaret Pilkington]

Mick, do you mean to say you don't get the job of untangling the lights and checking them......?

[Mick]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Mick, do you mean to say you don't get the job of untangling the lights and checking them......?

not if i can help it

[nikkival]

We put ours up yesterday. Customs seem to vary from country to country. I pinched this from Wiki -

Traditionally, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until Christmas Eve, and then removed the day after twelfth night (i.e., 6 January); to have a tree up before or after these dates was even considered bad luck. Modern commercialisation of Christmas has resulted in trees being put up much earlier; in shops often as early as late October (in the UK, Selfridge's Christmas department is up by early September, complete with Christmas trees). A common tradition in U.S. homes is to put the tree up right after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) and to take it down right after the New Year. Some households in the U.S. do not put up the tree until the second week of December, and leave it up until the 6th of January (Epiphany). In Germany, traditionally the tree is put up 24th of December and taken down 7th of January, though many start one or two weeks earlier and in Roman-Catholic areas the tree may be kept until late January. In Australia, the Christmas tree is usually put up on the 1st of December, which occurs about a week before the school summer holidays; except for South Australia, where most people put up their tree after the Adelaide Credit Union Christmas Pageant, which is in early November. Some traditions suggest that Christmas trees may be kept up until no later than the 2nd of February, the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Candlemas), when the Christmas season effectively closes.Superstitions warn of negative consequences if Christmas greenery is not removed by Candlemas Eve.

[MargaretR]

I celebrate YULE
Yule Origins, Lore, Legends, and Customs
Quote-"Yule is actually a span of thirteen days, usually counted from the night before the solstice (19 or 20 December, as it varies from year to year ), to the thirteenth night, (usually January 6 called "Twelfth Night" later by Christians). Bede called Yule eve "Mother Night", and it is thought this night was devoted to honouring the Idises (or Disir, female ancestral spirits) the family protectors. The Solstice itself, either 20, 21 or 22 December, is the most important of the days, when the dead and other beings of the dark fare most freely, Winter arrives, and humans are closest to the spirit worlds."

[West Ender]

Christmas starts on 24 December and lasts until Epiphany, 6 January, 12 days. The present season is Advent which, like Lent, was a time of fasting in the old Christian church.

I will, no doubt, be persuaded to put the tree up the week before Christmas but it will come down on 2 January. That's quite long enough.

[harwood red]

I tend to put everything up 2nd weekend before christmas so this year it will be around the 15th and they are taken down by the 6th Jan. I would hate them to be up longer than that as I find them dust collectors!!!

[Stanleymad]

Usually the 1st but looking more like next weekend been too busy & OH hasnt got them all down from loft yet

Usually get taken down before the 4th as my birthday & its always anti climax & prefer the bare walls LOL

[magpie]

in our house we start around or on the 12 December: Tree comes down and the rest on New Years Day....

[mez]

well i always start by putting the tree up on the 1st of december & add to it as the week goes on, the outside decorations will go up on a fine day this coming week, have just treated ourselves ( me & our susan) to a reindeer & sledge with lights for outside this year

i will take them down on the epiphany 6th jan: i just love them & my granchildrens faces when they see them .

[kathleen_firth]

i must admit i think xmas has started far too early in blackburn but as for me i started my xmas yesterday

[Sara]

It usually starts the 2nd weekend before Christmas, but this year can't get any enthusiasm (sp). So haven't got a clue when it will start.

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by magpie

in our house we start around or on the 12 December: Tree comes down and the rest on New Years Day....

It's the same here although I am being pestered today from my husband and children to put the tree up. I shall not give in to pressure.

Some people round here have got all the outside gubbins flashing away already.

The 12th or so is quite soon enough for me and then I pack it all away on New Year's day.

[Yolanda25]

Im putting mine up in couple of weeks, just so my son can admire my work of art lol, he is too young to undestand yet but he loves the lights

[grannyclaret]

Round here there are trees going up every day, once the first one is up ,they breed like rabbits,,

[Eric]

I put up my tree on my birthday, Dec 1 and try to cram two parties into one. It's a hoot.