Stop with all the new year austerity!
It's January 2nd and my Christmas decorations are still up.
Yes - that's right. In the SeasideBelle household, Christmas keeps on going until 6th January aka the Feast of the Epiphany.
Why pack everything up as the new year dawns (or even as early as Boxing Day) when the season of Christmas lasts so much longer?
There's so much hype in the run up to the big day, it seems a real shame to suddenly bring it to a premature end.
So I'm standing up for making the season of goodwill last the full 12 days of Christmas.
Imagine what those three kings/wise men/magi would have thought if they'd travelled all that way from the East following the star to find the stable empty because Mary and Joseph had packed up and left for their return journey to Nazareth straight after the birth. Would you want to sit on a donkey for several hours straight after having a baby?
My three kings are still making their way around the living room, drawing ever closer to the nativity scene my nan knitted many years ago. Yes, I'm rather attached to the idea of keeping my nativity scene real.
And how do you think Santa would feel if he'd just spent 24 hours delivering presents to all the children around the world and returned home looking forward to enjoying his Christmas dinner to find Mrs Claus packing the tree away?
On a more practical note, I like to have a bit of extra time to come up with my New Year's resolutions. Trying to come up with achievable goals over the Christmas period adds another layer of stress to what is usually an incredibly busy time of year. Plus, it means I don't start mine until 7th January - which gives me a week to watch everyone peak too soon at their attempts to better themselves.
It's also useful to have an extra week to finish off the chocolates, wine and other goodies before knuckling down to the obligatory January healthy eating.
Having spent four weeks through advent preparing for the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, it seems a shame to cut the festivities down to just a couple of days when you can stretch out the celebrations for nearly a fortnight.
So who's with me? Let's sing along to "We Three Kings" and celebrate Christmas for the full 12 days.
When do you take down your Christmas decorations?
I love this. I always feel bad for the poor Wise Men... no one likes to miss the party.
ReplyDeleteI have definite FOMO.
DeleteMy decorations are still up. I'm taking things down a bit at a time as the babies take off the baubles.#BloggerClubUK
ReplyDeleteI would normally leave mine up but we have all been poorly over Christmas and it was felt very flat so I am afraid they have been packed up and are back in the loft :(
ReplyDeleteI have always felt this way! Thanks for sharing your post.
ReplyDeleteI keep mine up for as long as the tree allows me - we lasted until yesterday! I don't like to burst the Christmas bubble too quickly either.
ReplyDeleteWe have an artificial tree, so don't have to worry too much about longevity. Although it still manages to drop it's needles!
DeleteI feel really guilty now and may hide when I post my comment. My decorations were down on Boxing Day this Christmas! I just cannot stand the mess any longer and I love starting the New Year with a clean fresh house free from Christmas clutter. As soon as the big day is over, Christmas is over it is sad but you are right the big build up kind of ruins it. I don't remember there ever being such a hyped up lead up to Christmas when I was little and it was more about the story of Christmas rather than a billion lights, frosted trees and matching wrapping paper. I'm sorry, I'll try harder this year.
ReplyDeleteIf you count Christmas day as day one, then 5th January is day 12. However I hear the Queen leaves her decorations up until 15th February which is Candlemas, so there are many traditions! #BloggerClubUK
ReplyDeleteI kept mine up. I like to wind down slowly into the New Year. It gives us a chance to finish off the cheese, find homes for the endless new presents and catch up on all the Happy New Years. The longer the better........
ReplyDelete