November 11, 2024, 4:29 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Advent calendars, Christmas decorations, and the first information about Christmas tree sales can already be found in stores in the fall. While some people are happy about the Christmas decorations, it is clearly too early for others. When do you traditionally start decorating?
Real Christmas fans start drinking mulled wine, watching Christmas movies, and, of course, decorating their homes as early as November 1. Others prefer to take things slowly and enjoy the fall in peace before plunging into the Christmas hustle and bustle. myHOMEBOOK reveals when it’s traditional to get the decorations out of the boxes for Christmas.
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When you can start putting up decorations for Christmas
Basically, there are no fixed rules as to when you can start distributing and putting up Christmas decorations in your home or around the house. The start depends entirely on personal preferences, regional traditions, and cultural influences.
Very traditional
As Christmas is a Christian holiday, you can use the church year as a guide. In Christianity, people wait for the Sunday of the Dead (Protestant) or Christ the King (Catholic) before they start decorating. Whether it is the Sunday of the dead or Christ the King, it is the last Sunday before the first Advent and marks the end of the Christian church year. Ruth Schmitz-Eisenbach from the Ankum, Eggermühlen, Kettenkamp parish community (Kirche aek) confirms this: “From a Christian point of view, it makes sense to start decorating on the first Sunday of Advent.”
The Sunday of the Dead, in particular, illustrates how inappropriate it would be to decorate the house beforehand. In the Protestant church, this day is dedicated to the memory of the deceased. For this reason, for many, the Christmas season officially begins on the first Sunday in Advent, i.e., four Sundays before Christmas Eve.
Good to know: According to Schmitz-Eisenbach, the Advent season is a time of penance, during which there are no decorations in the churches apart from the Advent wreath. Even the church service is celebrated simply. Festive decorations are only added shortly before Christmas. “To make it clear that we are approaching an important Christian festival during Advent, the decorations could be extended during the four weeks of Advent, i.e., not put everything up for the first Advent,” says the expert.
The early bird
Christmas may be a Christian festival, but the festive season has now achieved a certain cult status. A caffeinated soft drink and a man with a long, white beard are probably not entirely innocent. In recent years, especially in the USA and the UK, it has therefore become established for some to start decorating straight after Halloween. This way, you can enjoy the Christmas decorations and atmosphere for a particularly long time.
Christmas decorations at the last minute
Some people can hardly wait for Christmas, including the Christmas tree, fairy lights, and the scent of candles, while others take things slowly and don’t decorate until late December. In Catholic areas, in particular, Christmas decorations are traditionally not put up until December 23 or 24. This is especially true for putting up the Christmas tree. In return, the decorations stay up a little longer, namely until Epiphany on January 6 or even until February 2, which is Candlemas.