When to take down Christmas Decorations: Exact date to take down Christmas tree to avoid ‘evil spirits’

Leaving your Christmas decorations up for too long could bring you bad luck after the festive period according to tradition, here’s the deadline and the story behind this custom.

In a bid to beat the January blues some of us love keeping our Christmas decorations up this month, but according to Christian tradition now is the time to take them down. While there is no law mandating this practice (just as there was none for those decorating their house for Christmas around Halloween) it’s worth noting that your Christmas tree will start to brown as we approach Easter.

When do you take Christmas decorations down?

Traditionally you should take down your Christmas decorations by the 5th or 6th of January depending on which Christian calendar you use. The ‘Twelfth Night’ marks the arrival of the Three Wise Men who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring presents to baby Jesus and it’s considered bad luck to not have removed your decorations by this date.

People traditionally take down Christmas decor on the 5th or 6th of January depending on which Christian calendar they follow.

Why do we take Christmas decorations down on the Twelfth Night?

A report by iNews revealed that the Christian tradition of taking down Christmas trees on the Twelfth Night to avoid bad luck is a custom that developed in ‘modern times’. Professor Nick Groom of the English department at the University of Exeter said: “It was basically the Victorians who decided that Christmas decorations should be taken down after 12 days because they wanted to get everybody to work.”

This date varies according to your religion, however, for example Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on January 7 meaning they may keep their decorations up until later.

Others suspect that the tree being taken down on the Twelfth Night is based on other superstitions, History.com wrote that evergreens were once thought to ward away evil spirits and so removing them before they withered and died was essential to keeping your home free from these entities and the bad luck they carried.

The 'Twelfth Night' marks the date that the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus to present their gifts to him.

What should you do with your Christmas tree?

The UK government recommends four ways of safely disposing of Christmas trees:

1. Replant the potted Christmas tree in a garden so it survives and offers shelter to wildlife

2. Drop the tree off at a recycling centre where it can be converted into chippings or soil

3. Consult your local council to see if there’s a special collection service

4. Check if there’s a local ‘treecycling’ organisation that can use your tree for services like building flood barriers across UK communities