When is Christmas"OVER"

[SwimOdin]

It takes a while for society to un-Christmas itself, from advertising to obviously decorations, whether they be public or private.  What's the last day you're cool with seeing it out in the wild or in advertisements? 

January 2nd is the cut-off for me.  Conversely, I take perverse delight if there's a late-January ad that still has Christmas connotation.

[crackymckrackin]

2 minutes ago, SwimOdin said:

It takes a while for society to un-Christmas itself, from advertising to obviously decorations, whether they be public or private.  What's the last day you're cool with seeing it out in the wild or in advertisements? 

January 2nd is the cut-off for me.  Conversely, I take perverse delight if there's a late-January ad that still has Christmas connotation.

My wife said Walmart has it's valentine's day crap out already. 

[Top Gun]

Growing up we always kept the tree and outside lights going until the 6th for the Epiphany. 12 days and such.

[The_annoying_one]

December 26th.

That said, my tree and decorations are still up, but mainly because I haven’t had the energy to deal with them.

[André Toulon]

i think the most significant instance of this was years ago when a radio station was still playing Christmas music in February...

But as far as my personal preference....My tree has been up for about 7 years. I just call it a house plant. the lights are embedded into the branches so i dont really even decorate it...just turn the lights on in Dec. 

When i move, i plan to leave it right there 

[-Kudasai-]

Christmas is non-existent to me like all holidays.

[Insipid]

January is dark and bitterly cold, so I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the decorations up the whole month. It should be gone by February though. All the other stuff, movies and music, will feel out of season starting tomorrow. 

[ghostrek]

3 minutes ago, Insipid said:

January is dark and bitterly cold, so I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the decorations up the whole month. It should be gone by February though. All the other stuff, movies and music, will feel out of season starting tomorrow. 

yes  it is, but   in the darkest times is when we need hope the most 

[discolé monade]

2 hours ago, crackymckrackin said:

My wife said Walmart has it's valentine's day crap out already. 

and some easter. 

yes

[discolé monade]

53 minutes ago, Insipid said:

January is dark and bitterly cold, so I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the decorations up the whole month. It should be gone by February though. All the other stuff, movies and music, will feel out of season starting tomorrow. 

this. 

it should be lit.  

winter is the time where the veil between the living and the dead is lifted and the dead can roam more freely. 

that's what they say. 

so i love the lights to stay up, adds to the lore. 

[katt_goddess]

2 hours ago, crackymckrackin said:

My wife said Walmart has it's valentine's day crap out already. 

We have Valencrimes and St. Pat's crap up right now with plans for Easter things to go into flex areas of the store. 

I only put a stocking up for the beasties this year and it was taken down on Yule. I don't care for this time of year anyway. The only decorations I leave up are the Halloween ones because they go with the rest of my decor.  That broom has been hovering near the ceiling for about 23 years now.

[Raptorpat]

there was one christmas, when i was between 10-12 probably shortly after parents divorced, where the (fake) tree at my dad's didn't get taken down until April

in hindsight it was probably a depression/subsistence house at the time

[SwimOdin]

3 hours ago, André Toulon said:

i think the most significant instance of this was years ago when a radio station was still playing Christmas music in February...

But as far as my personal preference....My tree has been up for about 7 years. I just call it a house plant. the lights are embedded into the branches so i dont really even decorate it...just turn the lights on in Dec. 

When i move, i plan to leave it right there 

You make me feel better about the year we left ours up until March.

[Jman]

Traditionally, January 5, the Epithany is the last day it’s kosher to celebrate Christmas, watch Christmas movies, etc.

[mthor]

1 hour ago, Jman said:

Traditionally, January 5, the Epithany is the last day it’s kosher to celebrate Christmas, watch Christmas movies, etc.

*January 6

[scoobdog]

2 hours ago, Jman said:

Traditionally, January 5, the Epithany is the last day it’s kosher to celebrate Christmas, watch Christmas movies, etc.

The Epiphany is the end of the Roman Catholic Christmas sequence, it doesn’t have much bearing outside of liturgy.   It isn’t celebrated as a secular holiday, except in the Eastern Orthodoxy where the gift giving is tied to their holy day on the 19th.

[naraku360]

[Top Gun]

18 hours ago, discolé monade said:

this. 

it should be lit.  

winter is the time where the veil between the living and the dead is lifted and the dead can roam more freely. 

that's what they say. 

so i love the lights to stay up, adds to the lore. 

If I were stuck roaming around dead I'd at least hang out at a titty bar. 

[discolé monade]

1 hour ago, Top Gun said:

If I were stuck roaming around dead I'd at least hang out at a titty bar. 

fair enough. 

[katt_goddess]

1 hour ago, Top Gun said:

If I were stuck roaming around dead I'd at least hang out at a titty bar. 

Titty Bar of the Dead: Mournful Tits.

Coming soon to CrunchyRoll. 

 

[mthor]

16 hours ago, scoobdog said:

The Epiphany is the end of the Roman Catholic Christmas sequence, it doesn’t have much bearing outside of liturgy.   It isn’t celebrated as a secular holiday, except in the Eastern Orthodoxy where the gift giving is tied to their holy day on the 19th.

Shhhh! You have no idea how badly I need 12 lords a-leaping in my life.

[Top Gun]

17 hours ago, scoobdog said:

The Epiphany is the end of the Roman Catholic Christmas sequence, it doesn’t have much bearing outside of liturgy.   It isn’t celebrated as a secular holiday, except in the Eastern Orthodoxy where the gift giving is tied to their holy day on the 19th.

Well ackshually in the Catholic liturgical calendar the Christmas season extends to the feast of Jesus' baptism, which is the...third Sunday after Christmas. I have to make those 12 years of Catholic school count for something. 

[UwPp]

1 hour ago, Top Gun said:

Well ackshually in the Catholic liturgical calendar the Christmas season extends to the feast of Jesus' baptism, which is the...third Sunday after Christmas. I have to make those 12 years of Catholic school count for something. 

Does that mean you don't wear the school girl outfit anymore?

[Top Gun]

3 hours ago, UwPp said:

Does that mean you don't wear the school girl outfit anymore?

Sadly I outgrew that years ago.

[discolé monade]

8 hours ago, Top Gun said:

Sadly I outgrew that years ago.

well...pics or gtfo.

[Chappi]

The day after New Years would be ideal, but I would actively judge something Christmas-y in February. 

[scoobdog]

22 hours ago, Top Gun said:

Well ackshually in the Catholic liturgical calendar the Christmas season extends to the feast of Jesus' baptism, which is the...third Sunday after Christmas. I have to make those 12 years of Catholic school count for something. 

You are correct, sort of.  Neither the Epiphany nor the Baptism are Holy Days of Obligation.  The Epiphany can be alternately celebrated on the nearest Sunday, and If it is celebrated more than a week after the Solemnity of Mary, then the Baptism is moved to the next day.  In any case, the Epiphany isn’t of much more significance than a Gospel reading.

[Top Gun]

3 hours ago, scoobdog said:

You are correct, sort of.  Neither the Epiphany nor the Baptism are Holy Days of Obligation.  The Epiphany can be alternately celebrated on the nearest Sunday, and If it is celebrated more than a week after the Solemnity of Mary, then the Baptism is moved to the next day.  In any case, the Epiphany isn’t of much more significance than a Gospel reading.

Yes, it's moved to the closest Sunday for liturgical purposes, but the traditional date is still the 6th, and it's a big deal in a number of Catholic-heavy countries.

[scoobdog]

1 hour ago, Top Gun said:

Yes, it's moved to the closest Sunday for liturgical purposes, but the traditional date is still the 6th, and it's a big deal in a number of Catholic-heavy countries.

It’s in the name.  “Epiphany“ means to reveal and for the Eastern Orthodoxy, it doesn’t just mean just the arrival of the Magi - it also means Jesus’ revelation as a teacher on the River Jordan.  More emphasis is placed on Jesus being revealed to the world, particularly those who aren’t Jewish, whereas in the west, Jesus is the revelation of God to the Jewish people.

All Christians place some importance on the Magi and their miraculous arrival, but when you celebrate depends on whether you place more importance on Jesus as an embodiment of God or as an avatar of God.

[Top Gun]

I mean I wasn't even trying to get into the theology of it, just that January 6 is a notable date in and of itself for a whole lot of Christians. Like the Twelve Days of Christmas specifically refers to the time from Christmas until Epiphany.

[katt_goddess]

On 1/2/2026 at 11:00 PM, Top Gun said:

Sadly I outgrew that years ago.

You say that like it's ever stopped you before.

[scoobdog]

15 hours ago, Top Gun said:

I mean I wasn't even trying to get into the theology of it, just that January 6 is a notable date in and of itself for a whole lot of Christians. Like the Twelve Days of Christmas specifically refers to the time from Christmas until Epiphany.

Like we got something better to talk about, right?

My only point in the context of this thread is that it stopped being the "official" end of Christmas sometime after the middle ages - the last time that there was no delineation between the church and state..  Nowdays, there's overlap between the secular Christmas holiday and the Roman Catholic holiday because of the historic western tradition that underpins it.  If the Roman Rite placed more emphasis on the Epiphany/Baptism sequence, we likely would see those holidays as official ends to the season.

[Raptorpat]

guys i de-ornamented and put the tree away

[katt_goddess]

1 hour ago, Raptorpat said:

guys i de-ornamented and put the tree away

It's official. Crapmas is over now. Put your crap away people!