Wait! You Don't Have to Take Down Your Christmas Tree Until January

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Whether you put your Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving or on Christmas Eve, the sad truth is that eventually it will have to come down. Goodbye, bright lights, pretty ribbons, and DIY ornaments—until next year, that is! The question is, when exactly should you take down your Christmas tree? We know there's always debate surrounding when to decorate for Christmas, but the same goes for putting all of your décor away!

Some people want to enjoy their festive display as long as possible, while others start dismantling their setup the day after Christmas. While it's ultimately up to you to decide when to start storing your decorations, there are actually some rules about when to take down a Christmas tree, regardless of whether it's real or artificial. Here's the history behind when and why you should take down your Christmas tree by a certain date. Trust us, it's tradition!

When should you take down a Christmas tree?

Let's start at the beginning: Most historians think the Christmas tree has roots in Christianity and first became popular in Germany in the Middle Ages. "Paradise trees"were decorated with apples, communion wafers, or cookies and displayed in homes on December 24, the Christian feast day of Adam and Eve. Religious reformer Martin Luther supposedly added candles to trees in the 1500s, and by the 19thcentury, German-born Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, popularized the idea in England. Victorian trees were decorated with toys, candies, and popcorn strings. As Germans migrated, they brought their trees to other countries, and Christmas trees finally became popular in America by the 1870s.

That's how Christmas trees got their shining start, but when should they be put away? Well, according to tradition, a Christmas tree should be kept up until 12 nights after Christmas. (And yes, this is also where the Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" gets its meaning.) In the Christian religion, the Christmas season ends on The Feast of Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6. Also known as Three Kings Day or The Twelfth Night, this marks the date when the Three Kings arrived to bring gifts to baby Jesus, and reportedly dictates the best time to take down your holiday decorations—including the Christmas tree. That's because it’s the date that signals the end of the traditional celebrations. Some people even believe that waiting too long after the Twelfth Night to take the tree down could bring bad luck!

Of course, when to take down your Christmas tree is a personal choice. That said, those with live trees need to be a little more careful.

When should you take down a Christmas tree to avoid a fire hazard?

Fresh trees can last a month or more if you know how to keep a Christmas tree alive. The trick? The absolute freshest tree is one you buy locally and cut down yourself, ideally at one of the best Christmas tree farms in your area. If it's a pre-cut tree, sap can seal off the bottom of the tree and prevent it from taking up water in the stand, so make a fresh cut straight across the trunk, removing about a 1/4-inch disk from the bottom.

Most importantly, make sure your tree stand holds a quart of water per inch of stem diameter; for most trees, you'll need a Christmas tree stand that holds at least a gallon. And don’t get lazy! Check the stand daily. Some stands still may have water but the trunk isn’t submerged, so get down and take a look to be on the safe side.

Once your tree starts to get crispy, extra dry, or drop tons of needles, it can become a fire hazard. The good news is that Christmas tree fires aren't as common as you might suspect—though that doesn't mean they don’t happen at all. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fire departments respond to about 160 home fires that start with Christmas trees per year. In most cases, the fire was caused by faulty lighting or electrical issues, while heat sources such as candles too close to the tree caused fires about 20 percent of the time. That means it's important to inspect your lights and toss them whenever they're damaged or frayed and to keep your tree away from candles and heat sources such as the fireplace.

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