There are two types of people: those who take down their Christmas decorations straight away and those who leave them up for months on end.
But if you’re in two minds, a centuries-old tradition actually dictates when you should officially un-deck those halls, taking the decision out of your hands.
Based on this, the time to take down your tree is 12 days after Christmas.
It’s not an arbitrary custom with a date plucked from thin air — for Christians, it’s all about recognising the festival of Twelfth Night, followed by Epiphany.
The former is a celebration that marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas and the start of Epiphany; recognised as the day that the Three Wise Men, or the Magi, visited the baby Jesus.
According to the religion’s teaching, this is considered to be the official end of the Christmas season.
When is Twelfth Night 2026?
The 12 days of Christmas begins on December 25, so Christmas Day. Twelfth Night occurs on the (as you can probably guess) twelfth and final night of these – January 5, which for 2026 is this coming Tuesday.
Epiphany takes place the day after on January 6, while Candlemas – another traditional feast day marking when Jesus was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem – is on February 2.
The history of Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night has been a feature of Christmas celebrations for centuries, dating as far back as 597AD.
During the early Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Council of Tours (a city in France) marked on this year that Christmas and the 12 days following, up to Epiphany, should be filled with celebration.
The nearly two-week period was filled with feasts and festivities in medieval and Tudor England, which ended in 1603.
All 12 days were important, and the lengthy celebrations continued until around the late 1800s – when they were said to be removed from the calendar by Queen Victoria.
This may be the origin of why many take their decorations down on Twelfth Night, and why it’s now considered unlucky leave them up beyond then.
Apparently, the Victorians wanted people to be back at work by this date, while the Tudors typically kept their Christmas decorations up until Candlemas.
How is Twelfth Night celebrated today?
Today, while less common, Twelfth Night traditions revolve around food and drink as some may enjoy a Twelfth Night Feast.
This celebration often includes a punch known as wassail and a bake called a King Cake.
Another Tudor tradition, this cake would have had a bean baked into it, and whoever found the bean in their slice would get to be ‘king for a day’.
According to English Heritage, the cake ‘was leavened with yeast, rather like a fruit-laden brioche’ and from the late 18th-century onwards would be ‘elaborately decorated’ with sugar and almond pastes.
In fact, if you’re an actor performing at London’s Drury Lane Theatre on Twelfth Night, you will receive a slice of this cake, along with some rum.
When actor Robert Baddeley died in 1794, his will stated that the cake and punch should be enjoyed by whatever company was working at the theatre on January 6. The first Baddeley Cake was first served in 1795, and has been offered up every year since.
Other Twelfth Night traditions include singing carols, and writing a message above your front door in chalk to bless your home.
The most common tradition of all however, is the belief that it’s bad luck to leave your Christmas decorations up after Twelfth Night, so if you’re superstitious, you may want to take them down by then.
This article was first published on January 2, 2024
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