Tradition has it that all Christmas decorations have to be down by midnight on Twelfth Night (5th January) with all tree spirits living in the Christmas greenery released back into nature before the wassailing of twelfth day (the end of Christmas) commenced, otherwise they would wreak havoc in your house; spilling milk, letting rats into the larder etc.
With the intention of avoiding all that disruption we've already started taking things down, that was the easy bit - what we then do with them is harder...
Christmas cards can just be recycled but apparently if you take them to Sainsbury's before the 14th January (old gift wrap too if you still have it - we don't) they will make a donation to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) based on the volume collected. They donated over £9000 last year. Some other places do similar things too.
As for the Christmas tree we couldn't find a really inspiring way to dispose of it (we usually take it to the tip or drag it to the bottom of the garden and leave it there to create another eyesore). But a wise friend suggested burning it in our own magical ritual to Midwinter - and that definitely appeals!
BTW This year we are leaving the mistletoe up all year as it apparently attracts peace and harmony in your home; worth a try :)
I read somewhere recently that the 12th night thing was a Victorian ruse to get everyone back to work! In earlier times you could, apparently, keep stuff up until March or April, as a defence against the darkness of Winter. No idea of this is true or not :-)
ReplyDeleteWell it's got me back to work bah!
ReplyDelete