Ahhhhhhh, the joy of the holiday season. The parties, family, friends, Santa, the extra 8 pounds you put on between Thanksgiving and the new year, and of course, the Christmas tree.
Decorated with cherished ornaments, watered daily by the one person who remembers to do it, and assaulted by the family pets, this glowing symbol of the season does have an expiration date. The question is, when do you strip it bare and haul it to the curb?
I go through this battle every year. I want to drag that thing out leaving a trail of a billion needles one week after Christmas, but I get shouted down by the family, so it's still sitting there, taunting me.
According to a YouGov survey, 4% of people take their tree down on Christmas Day, 16% after Christmas but before January 1st, 37% during the first week of January, 13% later in the month of January, and 2% leave it up into February or later!
Traditionally, TODAY, January 6th, is the last day you can have that balsam fir up. Today is the 12th day of Christmas and dating back to the 4th century, many Christians have marked the end of the Christmas season on the Twelfth Night, or the Eve of the Epiphany. Tradition dictates that the Twelfth Night is the best time to take down your festive decorations — including your tree. It's believed that waiting too long after the Twelfth Night will bring bad luck.
So tonight, rip those lights off, box up the ornaments and kick that tree to the curb! Sox Spring training is a month away.