Is it bad luck to put your Christmas tree up too early?
It's that time of year again, and as the festive season gets into full swing, there's only one feeling in the air - disagreement! (Wait, no, that can't be right?)
Christmas time brings fun and wonder aplenty, but also a healthy amount of debate too, including:
- Best Christmas movie?
- Best Christmas song?
- Sprouts: are they nice or nasty? (Put us down for nasty, fwiw)
But above all: When is it okay to put up your decorations and when should you take them down? Well, here at BBC Bitesize, we thought we'd take a look at the history of decorations, the many disagreements around them, and throw in a quiz for good measure!
Personality quiz: What kind of Christmas tree are you?
Why do we put up Christmas trees?
Historians have conflicting views when it comes to the origins of the Christmas tree. It's generally accepted that the tradition began sometime in the 16th Century, with Germany, Latvia and Estonia all staking a claim to the tradition's creation.
In the UK, we owe our arboreal admiration to Queen Charlotte, who first introduced the Christmas tree to Royal households in the early 1800s. Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, was from Germany, and brought the tradition to the UK with her - though it was another royal couple that supercharged its popularity!
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was also from Germany, were first depicted beside a Christmas tree in an 1848 issue of the Illustrated London News. The couple held a massive influence over the country at large, with Christmas trees beginning to pop up in middle class homes not long after publication. Over time, trees became more readily accessible to the masses, and so a tradition was born!
When should you put your Christmas tree up?
Traditionally, people put up their trees and decorations on the first day of Advent, which is marked on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This year, that falls on Sunday 30 November - breaking the taboo that Christmas decor is for December, and December only!
For others, the festive season begins the second the spooky season ends, with trees going up straight after Halloween - with some even repurposing their trees into ghosts during Halloween.
All told, when you put your tree up is entirely up to you! Some go for November, some for early December, and some even later than that! In Norway, for example, it's tradition for trees to go up on 23 December.
Should you put a star or an angel at the top of your tree?
If when the tree goes up and down wasn't debate enough, then you should see the uproar around what goes on the things.
Baubles are a Christmas tree classic, and - like Christmas trees themselves - were popularised in the UK by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Fairy lights are also a staple of most festive firs, though whether these should be colourful or not is cause of some debate.
Perhaps the biggest point of conifer contention is what should sit atop the tree. A star or an angel are the most common choices, with both symbolising the peace and magic of Christmas - but there is no official decrees, so what tops your tree is up to thee.
Another common Christmas decoration is mistletoe, with people up and down the land using the plant as the perfect place to pucker up - much to the embarrassment of everyone else. But why has mistletoe become such a staple?
Well, mistletoe is a plant that retains its green during the winter, so is often associated with things like life and fertility, which might be why people began to kiss beneath it. There are other theories too, Ancient Norwegian and Scandinavian folktales decree that mistletoe is a plant of love, which might also proffer a reason for its popularity as a snogging spot.
When should you take your Christmas tree down?
Traditionally, Christmas trees and decorations are taken down during a celebration known as the 'Twelfth Night'.
Twelfth Night is a Christian festival, which takes place on 5 January, 12 days after Christmas. In some circles, it's considered bad luck to leave your decorations up after this point - but not everyone agrees!
According to English Heritage, decorations in Medieval England were left up until 2 February, for a celebration known as Candlemas. Falling 40 days on from Christmas, Candlemas was an important feast day for our medieval ancestors, as the candles to be used in churches in the coming year would be blessed.
Candlemas wasn't without its murmurings of bad luck, with folks in medieval Britain believing that decorations left up past Candlemas Eve would be possessed by goblins! Maybe worth checking the tree, eh?
