Listen up Christmas-lovers. 6 January is the last day, officially, to take your festive decorations down before it becomes ‘unlucky’. And before your neighbours start seriously judging you.
According to the Twelfth Night tradition, people should have taken decorations down by the twelfth night after Christmas – which some believe is 5 January and others believe is 6 January (depending on when they count from).
Twelfth Night is a Christian festival marking the coming of the Epiphany (6 Jan), which celebrates the revelation of baby Jesus to the world.
The 5 January, known as the ‘night before Epiphany’ is when, according to the Bible, the wise men visited the infant Jesus shortly after his birth.
If you’ve got a real Christmas tree and you can’t quite bare to leave it out in the middle of the street, cold and alone (sob!), there are a handful of ways to recycle it. Environment charity Greenpeace recommends the following:
:: Re-plant it in the garden.
:: Drop it at your local garden centre. Some places will chip the trees and re-use the chippings throughout the year.
:: Donate your old tree to a conservation scheme.
:: Leave it with your garden waste collection.
Traditionally, it is thought of as “unlucky” to keep your decorations up past the 6 January. However, just between us, keeping your fairy lights up is perfectly acceptable.