Every holiday season, the question returns for many festive families around the world — when should you take down your Christmas tree and decorations?
While many people take their trees down on Dec. 26 and others wait until New Year’s Day, there is another day with historical meaning for when to officially take down decorations.
Jan. 6 marks 12 days after Christmas Day and is recognized as the Epiphany. It’s the day when the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus.
Jan. 6 is also recognized as Old Christmas. The Julian calendar, created over 2,000 years ago, originally had Christmas on that day. In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle. The change resulted in the loss of 11 days in a year.
While there is no official day to take down decorations, there is a historical context behind the date that might keep your decorations up a bit longer than expected.
