putting up the xmas tree/decorations

[EsJay]

Sorry I cant find a better thread for this?
Can anyone tell me the basis behind it being bad luck to put it up before dec 1? Google hasnt helped much but I did find something about it being bad luck before 23 dec so if ive been doing it wrong all along whats it matter if I do it soon? Lol feeding my own obsession here I know.

[Melbournemumma]

We always put ours up on the 25th of November.

[Miss.September]

Ours goes up on the 1st of December. Mum always did it that way but we do it because it's DH's birthday at the end of Nov and he hates thinking about Christmas before his birthday is done lol!

[briggsy's girl]

We start putting things up now ish. Takes a month to do it all. Tree goes up dec 1 and lights start going on every night after that.

We are very Christmassy - so we start putting stuff up early to enjoy it (and to spread out the set up. It's a biiiiiiig job!)

[HotI]

Google hasnt helped much but I did find something about it being bad luck before 23 dec so if ive been doing it wrong all along whats it matter if I do it soon?

i must be full of luck then, cos we have had a few christmas eve dashes to get a christmas tree. i can't blame it all on the kids (it happened before they came along too), but the thought of trying to keep them away from the tree for 2 months is not pleasant.

[Nai]

It's bad luck in our house to put up anything Christmas related until after 5th because that's my birthday and I don't like to share

[emmjayt]

I've got a friend who put her tree up last week

[Astrolady]

Holiday celebrations was a better thread, and that is where I have moved this too

For a lot of people in SA, their tree goes up when Father Christmas arrives in the city. Which is the first Saturday in November. I used to do it then too, but by Christmas Day I was over looking at it, and it would be pulled down 2 days later. Last year I put it up later and it still came down 2 days after Christmas LOL. So we'll probably do the weekend that is closest to Dec 1.

[No.5]

I'm dying to put our tree up! I'd put it up now but I love listening to Christmas carols while we are putting it up and I'd feel weird about playing Christmas music just yet

Didn't really answer your question. I've no idea why it's apparently bad luck. My Nan always said it was but I never thought to ask why and now I can't maybe I'll ask my mum tonight.

[LionsandBears]

It's bad luck in our house to put up anything Christmas related until after 5th because that's my birthday and I don't like to share

Same, but for me it's the 6th.

DH likes to leave it as late as possible to put it up and have it down as early as possible after Christmas.

[MrsFabuloso]

We usually put ours up on the 1st Dec and take it down the 1st Jan. This year, I might put it up a little earlier because we will be away on holidays in between those dates and I would like the kids to enjoy it!

[AnyDream]

I'm taking a guess here, but it probably stems from the old church traditions, where the season (ie 4 weeks) before christmas is technically advent and it's not christmas until the baby jesus is born & you've been to church and paid your tithes. OR Possibly it's some kind of response to the pagan Yule, held around the winter solstice (20/21st Dec). I imagine that early european church leaders would have frowned upon any kind of christmassy celebrations during the yule period - especially because most of the 'christmas traditions' are actually 100% old pagan customs LOL.

Or it might've been some kind of excuse that parents used to get the kids off their back or to save mum from an extra month of vaccuuming pine needles up off the floor

Realistically though - in the past, christmas was much simpler and involved less expenditure and preparation. The Dec 1st thing sounds like a sane reaction to a commercial world gone crazy.

[Mother Goose]

I have always put ours up in the first week of December. I love Christmas. But now I have a slight dilemma in that DD2 was born 8 days before Christmas and I am trying not to let Christmas overshadow her birthday.... This year the tree is going up Dec 15...the day after her party. Will tackle next year next year!

[TeniBear]

Or it might've been some kind of excuse that parents used to get the kids off their back or to save mum from an extra month of vaccuuming pine needles up off the floor

That gave me another idea - maybe it's because they didn't want the tree to go brown/dry before the big day?

We always do December 1st too, simply because that's the way Mum did it

[JLeigh29]

We always did 2-4 days before Christmas growing up because we got a real tree and it would only last a week max. Now that I'm grown up I thought it was anytime after December 1. And it was bad luck to leave it up after 'the twelve days of Christmas'.

DH and I were discussing this at breakfast this morning - he thought the twelve days of Christmas referred to the twelve days before Christmas and I thought it was the twelve days after.

Then there's Boxing Day - isn't that something to do with putting everything back in boxes for storage??

[Beautiful Disaster]

We always did Dec 1. We looking at a real tree this year so we will see

[~Hestia~]

I don't know the history behind it all but we have always put it up on December 1st. Now that our youngest has a birthday on December 2nd we put it up after his party

[AnyDream]

Yes the 12 days of Christmas are the days including & after dec 25th. It finishes on Jan 6 which is the feast of the three kings & which is celebrated in various ways in a number of European countries.