When to take down Christmas decorations: When to take down your Christmas tree and how to recycle your tree in Edinburgh

Christmas trees are a long-standing winter holiday tradition, dating back to the 4th Century, and the centrepiece of any festive decorations.

Traditionally, Christmas trees should be put up at the beginning of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas Day.

However, people around the world often have their own traditions of when they put it up, with some doing it as late as Christmas Eve in some areas of the world.

With the presents opened and the food eaten, it's time to take down your Christmas tree soon. Photo: Tom Merton / Photo Images / Canva Pro.

When it comes to taking the Christmas tree down, if you leave it too late, you could be inviting bad luck upon yourself for the rest of the year.

Here’s when to take your Christmas tree down and how to dispose of it responsibly if you have a real one.

When to take down your Christmas decorations

We throw away over 9,000 tonnes of Christmas trees each year in the UK. Photo: AnnieSpratt / Pixabay / Canva Pro.

According to Christian tradition, you should take both your Christmas tree and other decorations down at the very end of the festive period, on Twelfth Night.

This year, Twelfth Night falls on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas Day.

This is the latest day when you can take them down to avoid bad luck for the rest of the year.

Some people prefer to take it down earlier, starting from Boxing Day or perhaps on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the end of the year.

Twelfth Night, also known as the Eve of Epiphany, is believed to be the date when the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem after his birth, marking the end of the Nativity story and therefore the end of traditional Christian Christmas celebrations.

How to recycle your Christmas tree in Edinburgh

In the UK, we throw away over 9,000 tonnes of Christmas trees each year.

That’s why it’s important to dispose of your tree responsibly if you bought a living one.

In Edinburgh and in most other areas in Scotland, your local council will have specific collection days when they will come to pick up your tree.

You can find out the collection date for your area here.

Alternatively, you can book a slot at your local waste recycling centre and drop it off yourself.