When does Christmas actually end? Here are the different views

[Michie]

How many days is Christmas? When should you finally take those lights off the porch or remove the tree? Read on for some of the arguments for and against commonly agreed-upon end dates for Christmas.

‘Christmas is one day’​

This, of course, is the simplest answer. Christmas is typically celebrated on Dec. 25 for most of the world — or Jan. 7 for churches using the Julian calendar (Jan. 6 for yet another, considerably smaller, part of the world.) On this day, the liturgy celebrated is the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. Priests wear white vestments on Christmas, which is different from the violet they wear during Advent.

Continued below.

When does Christmas actually end? Here are the different views

Just how many days is Christmas? When should you take the tree down and remove the decorations?

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[Michie]

The 8 days of Christmas? A look at the Christmas octave

The Church’s Western liturgical tradition sees Christmas as an octave, an eight-day celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[jacorian]

How many days is Christmas? When should you finally take those lights off the porch or remove the tree? Read on for some of the arguments for and against commonly agreed-upon end dates for Christmas.

‘Christmas is one day’​

This, of course, is the simplest answer. Christmas is typically celebrated on Dec. 25 for most of the world — or Jan. 7 for churches using the Julian calendar (Jan. 6 for yet another, considerably smaller, part of the world.) On this day, the liturgy celebrated is the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. Priests wear white vestments on Christmas, which is different from the violet they wear during Advent.

Continued below.

When does Christmas actually end? Here are the different views

Just how many days is Christmas? When should you take the tree down and remove the decorations?

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[jacorian]

Good question for the holiday. I believe that Christmas goes thru Jan. 6 & the Feast of the Epiphany. If the holiday came too often, it would lose meaning & become too normal. But it is relegated to a certain time of year so we can appreciate it. That being said, based on European tradition & the events of the time it makes sense that the holiday celebration lasted thru Jan. 6 when Christ was visited by the 3 Magi & circumcised. Biblical translations would have us believe the Wise Men came on Christmas night. Actually the events are spread out. In fact, deeper theology shows that Christ was likely born in the spring. The solstice, yes it represents a physical darkness but also a point of light illuminated that darkness. We peer further into the hidden stories. Which evangelist captured the story the best. Well in Mark we see that he skipped it because it was too well known & in John, John was about deeper ideologies. Matthew relates the geneaology thru the line of David & Luke describes who stumbled upon who. Jesus' family always lived in Nazareth, which is located in Galilee. Bethlehem is a town, part of the larger country of Jerusalem, which is David's city. Matthew traces Christ back to David & essentially Adam. But the Jewish line works thru the Mother's ancestry & again we learn that Mary & Joseph were probably distant cousins. And so Christ grows up like other Jewish children, attending synagogue & learning the carpentry trade, until it was time to graduate to his new profession.

 

[Diamond72]

How many days is Christmas?

If you put up Christmas decorations before Halloween people are going to get mad and they well say something to you. They want you to wait until after Thanksgiving. But we start to put up our decorations after Halloween. Then you take them down after New Years. So from Thanksgiving to Christmas is 3 weeks and then a week from Christmas to new years so we have our decorations up for 30 days or one month.

There is a person here with a very small yard and lot of skeletons and stuff for Halloween. So really they have no room to talk about our Christmas decorations when they go overboard with their devil worship decorations.

Actually, I took about half the stuff down in my yard the day after Christmas because it was just to much and I really should have weeded it out before Christmas.

 

[RileyG]

In my opinion, The Baptism of the Lord. OR if you REALLY want to stretch it out, The Presentation in the Temple AKA Candlemass on February 2nd

 

[JimR-OCDS]

The Church observes Christmas through the Epiphany and to the Baptism of the Lord, which is January 12,
2025. Then, she begins ordinary time.

 

[RileyG]

The Church observes Christmas through the Epiphany and to the Baptism of the Lord, which is January 12,
2025. Then, she begins ordinary time.

Yup. This is my understanding, too.

 

[Diamond72]

The Church observes Christmas through the Epiphany and to the Baptism of the Lord, which is January 12,

So I can leave some of my decorations up untell then? Although I attended a church once the pastor did not want any decorations at all.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

So I can leave some of my decorations up untell then? Although I attended a church once the pastor did not want any decorations at all.

My wife usually takes our Christmas decorations down after the Epiphany. However, it's up to you when you take them down.

 

[RileyG]

So I can leave some of my decorations up untell then? Although I attended a church once the pastor did not want any decorations at all.

How liturgical is your Methodist Church? I guess it depends on the congregation.

You can leave your decorations up for as long as you choose.

 

[Diamond72]

How liturgical is your Methodist Church? I guess it depends on the congregation.

Yes, depends on the Church. I got married at the English Methodist Church in Hong Kong. The pastor was from Australia. There were maybe 300 there for the wedding so I would think it was an average size church.