Exact date to take your Christmas tree down to avoid the dreaded curse

01 January 2024 , 08:00

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The curse is steeped in tradition (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Christmas is coming to a close, your belly is full of festive food, you've socialised, played family games and watched copious Christmas films - so naturally, you'll start to think about taking down the decorations. But when is the best time to take down the tree?

The excitement of putting up Christmas decorations can be a warming feeling, as you get excited for the festivities ahead in the coming weeks, so taking them down can be a sad sight when your walls start to look bare and all the twinkling lights have come down.

Many people believe there is a specific day they should come down to risk avoiding the bad luck "curse" by leaving your tree up too long. And it's steeped in religious tradition too.

According to tradition, decorations should be taken down and put away on January 5, which is commonly thought to be the twelfth night of Christmas Day. However, others argue that it should be January 6, which is known as 'The Feast of Epiphany'. This would be the twelfth night following December 25; a Christian festival marking the night the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts.

The 'Epiphany' is referred to as the last day of Christmas and many see this as the last day to have decorations up, so leaving your tree, lights and decorations up past this day (or even taking them down before this day) is thought to bring bad luck in the New Year.

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The argument on whether to take it down on January 5, or January 6 has always been debated. The Church of England counts from Christmas Day, which would mean the Twelfth Night always falls on 5th January. However, the Catholic Church, start counting the 12 Days of Christmas from Boxing Day, so January 6 is the Twelfth Night and also Epiphany.

So whether you choose the 5th or the 6th, the superstition that leaving it up any longer is bad luck has been around for hundreds of years. The idea stemmed from people believing that Christmas trees homed spirits, and when taken down in the first few weeks of January, the spirits were set free. So if it wasn't followed correctly, it would negatively affect agriculture in the New Year.

When do you take your decorations down? Let us know in the comments

Niamh Kirk