...It Is Now!
Today is the Feast of The Epiphany, although some people will mark Sunday [January 8th] as Epiphany Sunday.
As we walked back from the Post Office on Tuesday afternoon, we discussed the different 'rules' people have for celebrating.
I know some who always decorate the tree on the first Sunday of December [I did that when the children were younger - it fitted in with the pattern of Xmas events at Church]
Others have a particular 'start' date which enables them to get family birthdays out of the way first [you know who you are!!] Very sensible - you need the opportunity to enjoy cards and gifts for your special day.
Another friend refuses to allow any decorations to go up before Christmas Eve - whilst others start taking them down straight after Boxing Day. People with 'real' trees try and manage a careful window around 25th to allow for a reasonable display before the needles start to fall on the carpet.
I love the different approaches to decorations. Some folk go over the top and have an eclectic collection where every ornament has a story [me] others are very Trad, with fresh greenery around their pictures, and tartan bows on finials and newel posts, others Arty with twisted willow branches, stacked driftwood and iridescent glass baubles, some all minimalist, pale and Scandi.
What is your Christmas Style?
and when do get your dex down?
Or are you like my late friend Ray - who kept one little red bauble always hanging on the end of the pelmet over his lounge window? So, like the redeemed Ebenezer Scrooge, he could "keep Christmas in his heart,. and honour it all year"
That's a lovely thought from your friend Ray. I've kept some LED "candles" out this year as I have so enjoyed their changing colours. But I keep my stuff out until Epiphany and the final nativity set doesn't so away until Cabdlemas, 2nd February
ReplyDeleteSome of these colour changing LEDs are really lovely
DeleteI have three little Nativity scenes that stay up all year. A small wonky crochet gathering on a bookshelf; they look as though they are having a party and it seemed cruel to put them in a box, an ornament brought pack from Bethlehem by a friend and a wooden carving beside the fireplace. The others have come down.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a Crochet party
DeleteI love the photos of Jess and Rosie in their festive Santa hats!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see all the different Christmas traditions. I usually put up my tree and decorations mid-month (if I am organized) or later (some years, on Christmas Eve), and I usually keep them up until January 6th. Some of my neighbors follow a different calendar and their Christmas is celebrated on January 5th or 6th.
Some years, I'm good about taking things down soon after the 6th; other years, I go another couple of weeks before things are put away!
You are right to remind us of our friends in the Orthodox Church who celebrate Christmas on a different date.
DeleteWe always wait until Epiphany before taking the decorations down and also attend Mass today. Our current Christmas tree is on its fifth Christmas. I brought it in on 14th December and it hasn't dropped a single needle. It is pot grown and I re-pot it every other year into a slightly larger pot. I give it a good watering the day before I bring it in which is enough to see it through.
ReplyDeleteThat's very impressive, Philip. I'm wondering how much the tree grows each year, and how long you can keep bringing it inside. Keeping a tree in a container adequately watered must have been a challenge last summer too.
DeleteDuring the Summer it has to be watered and I give it a couple of liquid feeds. It puts on about 6 inches growth all round. This is pot grown not one that has been dug up and containerised bare-rooted which in my experience don't manage to survive long. Being in a pot its growth is inhibited but I should we will have it for a few more Christmases yet.
DeleteThanks for that info!
DeleteI'm afraid I have no rules. I am definitely laissez faire in my approach to decorations and have no set time for anything. Our tree is still up. I guess we will undress it and put it outside at the weekend...if we remember! Kezzie x
ReplyDeleteP.S. I loved reading about Philip 's repotted tree!
Yes, that is a great story 🎄🎄🎄
DeleteI'm very traditional in my approach to decorating. I don't like a lot of flashiness and prefer white lights over the colored ones. Our decorations generally go up the day after Thanksgiving since we have an artificial tree and I take them down on New Year Day. This year everything went up a few days later than normal and came down this week since we were celebrating with family at all different times. My house looks bare without the decorations.
ReplyDeleteI suppose 'after Thanksgiving' is a popular time to decorate in the US. Yes, the hoe does feel strangely bare[but much of that is the lack of joyful children and their toys underfoot]
DeleteOur decorations always go up sometime around our wedding anniversary which is the 4th December and this year I took everything down over the course of a few days, so that it wasn't so much of a shock to my system. I have however kept one teeny strand of fairy lights out to light up this dismal January and make me smile.
ReplyDeleteLast year Alan left up a length of tinsel that was draped over his mirror in the hall, I think it started off as an accidental miss, but then he decided it would stay all year. The first thing I checked when I went into his the other day was that it had gone, and it had!!
Having a regular "up" date is more useful than the"down" date, I think
DeleteWe tend to throw everything at the Christmas decorations , husband put them up and I take them down because I'm fussy about them being packed away carefully!
ReplyDeleteI love real trees but central heating and wood burners are their enemy - not that the heating has been on much this year
Alison in Wales x
Another advantage of my artificial tree is that it's a predictable size. But I wonder if you can put your trimmings from the real tree into your wood burner?
DeleteWe tend to avoid anything pine as it's resinous and apparently not recommended
DeleteAlison x
I didn't realise that
DeleteYour grandchildren are adorable! If I don't put the tree, artificial, up and decorated the weekend after our Thanksgiving, it doesn't get put out. This year no tree. I usually take it down a few days after Christmas. Ornaments are a random mix of those made in childhood, made by nieces and nephews, given to me by friends, and bought over the years. Many have seen better days! I did get a few decorations on the fireplace mantel, and the artificial wreath hung on the garage as usual. Only the wreath is still out, though later today I will hang it back on the hook inside the garage where it lives the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteAha! Another post-Thanksgiving decorator. I love random decorations with memories...but I really do miss having a mantel shelf here!
DeleteThe Advent candle holder and the Nativity set are in one box, which comes out the day or two before the First Sunday in Advent.
ReplyDeleteThe wise men are placed away from the "stable" and every day they get moved a little closer. Baby Jesus is put in place on Christmas Eve.
The rest of the dex go up a bit each day or so; it's not such a big job then, and I can enjoy the process.
After Boxing Day, the advent things are put away; the green branches are fairly dry by then. The rest of the dex are put away during the 12 days, again bit by bit.
The Nativity stays up until after Epiphany, when the wise men finally get there! ~ skye
Oh I love the idea of the wise men moving closer each day!
DeleteI cleared the decorations away earlier in the week and restored the house to its usual minimalist state. It was good to take time to clean and put everything safely stored with a small cull of unused items ready for charity shop. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI have reduced my decorations again...but a long way from minimalism
DeleteLovely to hear how the grandchildren have been enjoying Christmas!
ReplyDeleteOur decorations will stay up until I feel like putting them away, which could be a while yet. We are hoping for a visit from the family in the middle of January so everything will stay till then. The tree is kept watered and since it came in soon after cutting, it will last a long time. I do love to see the lights, and the LED candles and lighted creche on the mantel.
I love to see the joy on the children's faces as they stand and look at the tree and rearrange the figures round the crib. Having read Skye's comment above, I'm trying to work out how to organise the journey of the Magi around Cornerstones next December!
DeleteLovely post and pictures of the grandchildren and I love your friend’s bauble story so simple and yet so profound. The tree usually goes up on the 22nd December the day before Pip’s birthday. Now that she is older she has great fun being in charge of it all 🙂. The cards are taken down on Epiphany but the tree remains until Candlemas, a bit of Christmas cheer to counteract the wintery grey start to the year ❤️
ReplyDeleteWow - it's four full weeks to Candlemas...but on the other hand, my tree went up much earlier than yours did!
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