For some spirited people, holiday decoration takedowns are serious business accompanied by superstitions and traditions based on religion, belief, or pure convenience. Nevertheless, not all celebrants plan when they dismantle their festive accessories.
Although not everybody celebrates the same holidays and not everyone decorates for the holidays, there’s no doubt holiday decorations spread joy and cheer.
“I think wintertime is so gloomy and we get to spread joy with lights and color, so I love the decorations,” said Merilee Fisher, Photography and AP Studio Art teacher.
It’s no secret that holiday decorations can take up a lot of space when being stored, so celebrants often try to avoid too much disorder.
“I took them down January 1 or 2…The only reason I take them down right after New Year is because I still like New Year as a holiday, having some colorful lights up and stuff to celebrate. But then I get to a point where I’m ready for the house to be back in order, and I get rid of the clutter and the mess,” said Fisher.
According to statistics taken from a 2022 Home Decor Report from Opendoor, more than half of the responders aimed to take down holiday decorations on or near New Year’s Day.
“We generally take them down New Year’s Day or the day after New Year’s Day, like maybe January 3rd or 4th,” said Christopher Murphy, U.S. History and AP World History teacher.
The most common superstition surrounding decoration takedown is related to the Twelfth Night, either January 5 or 6 depending on the tradition. Participants believe it is bad luck to deconstruct decor after this date. However, not all superstitions correlate with long-standing customs.
“The only [superstition] that my wife believes in is that you definitely can’t take down Christmas until after the New Year, like those decorations kind of ride together. And what we do is we actually leave the Christmas decorations up, and then we have a couple “Happy New Year” things we decorate with,” said Murphy.
