by Janet Dunn

Created on: December 09, 2010

In the Christian belief the celebration of the birth of Christ is referred to as The Christmas Season, The Twelve Days of Christmas, or the Yuletide Season.  These names are given to a period of time between Christmas Eve and midnight of January the 5th, also referred to as the Twelfth Night.  The preparation of this event is a period of four Sundays prior to Christmas called Advent.  This is the time when people begin preparing for the holidays by decorating their homes and putting up the

Christmas tree. 

This tradition of decorating a tree originated in Germany in the 16th century.  Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, is credited with decorating the Christmas tree by attaching white candles to the branches. This was to reenact the forthcoming birth of Christ, thus lighting the way for his arrival.  Today with our electric lights we tend to light up the world.

However you prefer to celebrate and rejoice in the holidays; this expanse of time is commonly known as Christmastide.  

Today after all the festivities and celebrations are over begins the task of taking down the Christmas tree and all the trimmings.  Most undertake this chore before New Year’s Day because of the convenience of time.  In many households this is the most practical time to accomplish this task before the work schedules resume.

Some believe that the timing of taking down the tree will determine the luck and prosperity of the New Year.  Throughout time, superstitions have been religiously practiced in regard to this production of dismantling Christmas decorations.  Here are a couple of those timely superstitions that people use as guidelines when the Holiday Season comes to an end.   

It’s funny how superstitions change down through the years as their prophecies reverse in meaning.  One particular superstition does just that.  In today’s modern society it’s believed that if the tree is taken down before New Year’s Day that the bad luck of the old year stays behind and the new year begins anew; but, years ago taking down the tree before New Year’s Eve meant a year of bad luck.  During my childhood, the latter was what my parents observed.   

But still the popularity of the most widely observed custom of waiting until the end of Christmastide seems to have become the norm for most all of us by believing that leaving the tree up until the eve of January 5th brings good luck to the home and its occupants for the whole year. But if you wait, caution heeds that taking down the tree after the start of the Epiphany, January 6th, one should beware of an omen of bad luck and therefore leave the tree up for the whole year until the arrival of the next Christmastide. 

So whether you choose to dismantle your tree before New Year’s Day, at the end of the Christmas Season or on or after the start of the Epiphany, rest assured that the new year arriving with its renewed and well thought out resolutions, (most of which you probably won’t keep) is a blessing; so pause, share a glass of kindness with family and friends and reflect on times past as you anxiously anticipate the dawning of another wonderful year.

“Happy Holidays to All”.

Sources and Further Readings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmastide

 http://landscaping.about.com/cs/winterlandscaping1/a /christmas_trees.htm

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