If there is one festive subject that is always up for debate, it is the correct time to put up Christmas decorations. Of course, the Grinch is not going to show up and tear down your tree for picking the wrong date, but it is really down to how much you care about tradition.
What does tradition say?
Following the rules of the Christian calendar would mean waiting until Christmas Eve to put up your decorations. This is because traditionally everything before Christmas Day was classed as Advent. The decorations would then stay in place until Twelfth Night – which is the 5th or 6th of January – to observe the 12 days of Christmas. However, not many people know these traditions nowadays.
What about the modern world?
When it comes to modern ideas about trees, fairy lights and the rest of the decorations, the rule is any time up to mid-December. The most common day for putting the decorations up is actually the first of the month – which is chosen by roughly 35% of people in the UK.
The second most popular time is the very first weekend in the month. Some people still find that a bit early though and prefer to wait until the midway point in December. If you want to follow general trends, the 15th would mark the cut-off point.
In the end, when you put your Christmas decorations up is purely a matter for the individual – so feel free to do them whenever you like.
