On the twelfth night of Christmas my true love gave to me, chores to take down the heavy tree.
People often debate when you can put them up, but what about taking the decorations down?
Households across the UK will be boxing up their tinsel and toy soldiers – or oversized cotton wool balls if you’re Kim K, but why is it unlucky to leave the decorations up after 5 January, and what does it have to do with the Christian festival Epiphany?
Read on to find out…
What is Epiphany?
Epiphany marks the Three Wise Men’s visit to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus.
The day also commemorates Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.
Epiphany is the ancient Christian feast day, and is also known by some as Three King’s Day.
As legend has it, the three wise men followed a star in the sky to the stable where Jesus was born, bearing gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.
Three King’s Day isn’t really celebrated across the UK, but in Spain it’s bigger than Christmas Day.
Three Kings Day, or Dia de los Reyes, is when most Spanish families receive their Christmas presents and sit down for a big meal, serving dishes including roscon de reyes, or the kings’ cake.
The ring-shaped pastry is decorated to look like a crown that a king would wear. It’s sometimes topped with glazed fruits, representing the jewels on a crown.
When is Epiphany 2020?
According to the Church of England, the day of Epiphany is on 6 January, the day after the Twelfth Night.
What is Twelfth Night?
Twelfth Night is a festival in which Christians celebrate the beginning of Epiphany, and comes 12 days after Christmas, but the exact date is sometimes disputed.
The Church of England counts 12 days from December 25, to land on 5 January, but some other Christian groups count the 12 days of Christmas as starting the day after Christmas Day – making 6 January the Twelfth Night.
Though both dates are correct, it’s become tradition that many count 5 January as the Twelfth Night and, religious or not, it’s the date your Christmas decorations come down.
When to take down Christmas decorations – why is it unlucky to leave them up after 5 January?
Legend has it that people believed spirits reside in Christmas trees and other festive greenery like holly, and after the festive period – which ends on Twelfth Night – they should be released back into the wild.
If you leave up the festive greenery after Twelfth Night, the harvest wouldn’t grow that year.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/06/epiphany-take-christmas-decorations-twelfth-night-12004350/
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