When does Christmas begin and end?

Dickie10

i know by the offical 12 days of christmas that the first day is dec 25th and the last is january 6th but it seems that more and more people like to think that christmas is over by the 27th of december. radio stations used to play christmas songs up to new years day now you will struggle to hear one even on 26th why is this? for me the christmas season starts around dec 21 st. i usually put up the christmas tree around the 20th of december and take it down on the 6th january.

but for me really the christmas season starts around the 22nd december and finishes on january 2nd. i love new years eve and new years day is a great day if you have the next day off like this year. i love st stephens day most of all though, the sport on tv. drinking on and off and an epic night that night. christmas day is grand too. dont really get christmas eve though at all. its treated very like an ordinary week night in our house

Boggy Turf

It finishes on Little Christmas or Women's Christmas (Nollaig na mBan).

January 6th.

kleefarr

First day 25th Dec.
Last 12 days after that including 25th.
12 days of Christmas.

KERSPLAT!

Never ending

Flange/Flanders

Yeah the christmas songs thing is a big bug bear of mine, some stations never play them after christmas day now, Today FM being 1 i think. Also, every second christmas song this year seems to be Mariah Carey!!!

JeffKenna

Christmas starts the day you get holidays for work and probably ends after Stephens day.

Wheeliebin30

Most people back in work on the 2nd January.

Very hard to celebrate Christmas on the 4th and 5th for example while back in work!

freshpopcorn

For me Christmas really begins when the schools finish up and people finish up from work. So it can range from the 21st to the 23.
It ends on the 6th of January and I mean the full day.

Cortina_MK_IV

1st on a Sunday so Monday 2nd is a bank holiday.

Atari Jaguar

It's January 6th. 12 days of Christmas don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

MadDog76

For me, Christmas begins the first weekend in December and ends the day after New Years Day .......... so about a month all in all ........ and what a month!

mansize

kleefarr wrote: »

First day 25th Dec.
Last 12 days after that including 25th.
12 days of Christmas.

So Jan 5?

mansize

me? 19 Dec - Jan 1

mansize

Im finished work Dec 23 back Dec 28

Wanderer78

Doesn't really start or finish for me

Passenger

Dickie10 wrote: »

it seems that more and more people like to think that christmas is over by the 27th of december. radio stations used to play christmas songs up to new years day now you will struggle to hear one even on 26th why is this?

Wondered why this had become prevalent too. It's like the media hive mind decided that Christmas begins in Nov and ends at Dec 25th.

Dickie10

at least its not me! think it must be because the media are in tow with consumerism/capitalism. after midday 25th they know the game is up and cant sell u anything at decent price so they seem to be happy to pull the plug on chrismas aroubd then, that means christmas songs get the chop too, they must be getting in the way of the latest pop songs or xfactor goon trying to make money. if u listen this year i guaruntee u the christmas songs will begin to dry up from 2pm on christmas day on radio, good luck to finding any on stephens day.

Dickie10

anyone listening to the raadio today? listen out for the blanking of xmas songs from tonight onwards

Loughc

Dickie10 wrote: »

anyone listening to the raadio today? listen out for the blanking of xmas songs from tonight onwards

Yep I hate that about Irish radio stations!!!

Clonmel1000

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Most people back in work on the 2nd January.

Very hard to celebrate Christmas on the 4th and 5th for example while back in work!

Equally hard to celebrate at the beginning of November.

Posy

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

Equally hard to celebrate at the beginning of November.

I celebrate from the beginning of September.

Dickie10

how r the xmas songs going?

alchemist33

For me it's over from tomorrow. The focus shifts to going back to work, NYE and the year ahead. Christmas is really all about the build-up.

kleefarr

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

Equally hard to celebrate at the beginning of November.

Still Christmas, whatever you're doing.

feargale

When I was a kid Christmas began with school holidays (about 18th in secondary, maybe 22nd in primary) and ended with the return to school on 7th/8th January. For adults it began I would think on Christmas Eve and went on until 6th January. Then the Church began messing around with the holidays. Once New Year's Day went and another time 6th January went. That didn't help to preserve the twelve days of Christmas. In the fifties, in a rural Irish village in the few weeks before Xmas the only signs of the coming Christmas were toys appearing in some shop windows where no toys were to be seen for the rest of the year.
I abhor the way commerce has hijacked Xmas turning it into an orgy from late October until Xmas Eve, and then treating it as over. Don't get me wrong. I know the Christians hijacked it from the Pagans and need to bandage the finger when pointing it at Mammon. But whatever floats your boat, the Western Christian feast, the Winter Solstice, Yule, the Marxist New Year or the Orthodox Xmas, it doesn't begin in October or November and it is a vulgarity to behave as if it does. And nobody should be allowed to deprive us of the twelve days. The pagans started this lark of quasi-hibernation to keep themselves sane during the miserable northern winters.
I can just about tolerate talk of Xmas on 1st December. In fairness to Guinness who have the very best Xmas advt, they don't show it before December. It's time to do the Xmas cards then. If you move house a few miles down the road as I did once, you assure the old neighbours that you will be seeing them regularly. The reality is that for all you will see of them you may as well have moved to Australia. The Christmas card is the way of maintaining contact.
On 8th December country people by tradition came to town to do the Xmas shopping, and that is when the lead up should begin, the office parties, meeting up with acquaintances one hasn't met for months to have a drink and a chat etc..
On occasions I have had to endure Christmas carols in restaurants in late October. I don't return to those establishments. You should boycott them too.
And I make sure the Xmas tree doesn't come down until 7th January.

Wheeliebin30

Tree coming down tomorrow.

DanMurphy

I know Christmas is over when I see the Easter Eggs arrive in Ryan's shop, which is any day now.
Last year they had them at the checkout (beside the St. Patrick's Day badges) on the 3rd of Jan.

MadDog76

feargale wrote: »

On occasions I have had to endure Christmas carols in restaurants in late October. I don't return to those establishments. You should boycott them too.
And I make sure the Xmas tree doesn't come down until 7th January.

Which restaurants? I'd love to find a few places that start the Christmas festivities as early as possible!!

Clonmel1000

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Tree coming down tomorrow.

Why? It's Christmas.

Dickie10

yep as i guessed havent heard one christmas song since late xmas night, none on the radio stevens day either

mansize

Its done.

Loughc

mansize wrote: »

Its done.

It's not.

Clonmel1000

I'm not particularly a fan of Christmas but even I recognize that Christmas lasts until Jan 06.

JeffKenna

Christmas is now over

Ho ho ho

mansize

i took down my decs last night.

dudara

I turned on the Christmas tree lights yesterday about 2pm, while I watching Netflix and reading on my iPad. Realised a few hours later that it was 6pm and pitch black outside, but I was nice & cosy with all my twinkly lights. I absolutely adore these evenings between Christmas Day and Nollaig Na mBan.

Loughc

JeffKenna wrote: »

Christmas is now over

Ho ho ho

Nope it's still not.

JeffKenna

Loughc wrote: »

Nope it's still not.

Starting wishing people a 'happy Christmas' and I think their reaction to you might show otherwise.

Alicat

JeffKenna wrote: »

Starting wishing people a 'happy Christmas' and I think their reaction to you might show otherwise.

We're still getting Christmas presents from customers in work so I figure it's still Christmas for a lot of people.

JeffKenna

Alicat wrote: »

We're still getting Christmas presents from customers in work so I figure it's still Christmas for a lot of people.

When was the last time you wished someone a happy Christmas?

MadDog76

mansize wrote: »

i took down my decs last night.

I left up my decs last night.

MadDog76

JeffKenna wrote: »

When was the last time you wished someone a happy Christmas?

The lad behind the counter in Spar wished me a "Happy Christmas" about a half hour ago .......... I wished him the same right back!

Alicat

JeffKenna wrote: »

When was the last time you wished someone a happy Christmas?

In work to the people who gave us the presents! Which was yesterday!

fryup

it ends tomorrow

regular life, regular TV

Loughc

fryup wrote: »

it ends tomorrow

regular life, regular TV

Same for myself but the tree is staying up until Friday. I need some cheer in here and I'll need some serious cheering up after having to be back in work.

Spanish Eyes

I always thought it was "bad luck" to take the tree down before 6th January!

Old wives tale from my late granny I suppose.

It only matters if you are supersticious though!

Happy New Year.

iguana

My Christmas starts on the last Friday of November and ends with either Twelfthnight or Women's Christmas on the 6th. So generally Christmas takes up about 1/9th of my year.:D

I also do 3 weeks of Easter, nearly 2 weeks of Halloween and the best part of a week for my son's birthday. We seem to be in party mode as often as not in my house.

Atari Jaguar wrote: »

It's January 6th. 12 days of Christmas don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

January the 5th is the 12th day of Christmas.

Loughc

iguana wrote: »

January the 5th is the 12th day of Christmas.

I always thought the 12 days of Christmas were December 26th to January 6th?

Posy

I think they can be interpreted either way.

It makes sense that the first day of Christmas is Christmas day, but then how is the 5th the last day when Little Christmas is the 6th?!
It hurts my January brain. :pac:

iguana

Loughc wrote: »

I always thought the 12 days of Christmas were December 26th to January 6th?

So did I but then I counted the days . I was in my mid-30s when I did it, after hearing the 5th referred to as Twelftnight and it blew my mind a bit. There is an argument that the 12 days of Christmas start on the 26th of December so the 6th is the 12th day. But that's kind of daft because that means that Christmas day itself is not actually a day of Christmas! The 6th is the feast of Epiphany, Little Christmas is a colloquial name because in a lot of countries it is also a big celebratory day, with big events on the 5th (Twelfthnight/Epiphany Eve) and 6th of January. It's a huge shame that we don't celebrate the last days of Christmas in some of the old ways as there are a lot of lovely traditions that we have lost, with special foods, drinks, songs and games to be played on the 5th/6th. It's such a fun little holiday that we don't do any more and would really make a great end to the Christmas season. (In some cultures they even kick off the beginning of Mardi Gras season which last from Jan 6th until pancake Tuesday.)

I'd hoped to revive some of the old traditions last year but was a bit sick by the last few days of Christmas. This year I'll definitely do something special with S for Twelftnight, though it will be in the morning. Next year it falls on the Friday so I hope to have a small party.

For me Christmas starts the first day of the Dec/Jan sales! That is when I buy the stocking fillers for the following Christmas. In December, the Sunday 10 to 14 days before 25th is the Official start when tree goes up and it comes down Jan 2nd.