Whatever happened to the 12 days of Christmas. ?

[matsalleh]

There was only ever 1 Christmas day,the rest are only anniversaries.Or shopping days

[Joanl]

I won't put mine up until after the 13th December these days. Last time I did that, my dad died and I felt like I wanted to just rip them all down and never put them up ever again. It was a long time ago now, but it still applies.

[Rupert_Baehr]

It would be nice to be well-prepared for Christmas ... It would probably be nice to win the lottery, too - and the chances are about the same.

 

Each year I promise myself I will get the cards written and ready to post by Thanksgiving. - And each year I don't manage to do so. IMO; there's not a lot of point in just sticking a piece of card in an envelope, putting a stamp on it and sending it to people you haven't spoken to for a year. I like to write a letter with each card (and not a one-size-fits-all news sheet, a real letter.)

 

This Christmas is certainly going to be different! - It will probably be about 35'C warmer than the last few and I won't have to shovel snow.

 

'Shovelling snow' is something I won't miss, but I will miss a lot of the rest.

 

For 7 out of the last 8 Christmasses I've lived in places where Christmas starts on the First Sunday of Advent (which seems appropriate, given that Advent is - by definition - the period leading up to Christmas.) The towns and villages put up their Christmas lighting on the Friday or Saturday before.

 

Most places have a Christmas Market - some last for a couple of days, some for weeks. Many villages will also have Glühwein and food stalls during the evenings for 3 or 4 days a week.

 

Then there are the 12 Days of Christmas, then 3 King's Day (when Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar [and their friends] come around, sing outside your house, collect for charity and write their initials and the date in chalk at the top of your door.)

 

The next day is the start of the 5th season - Fasching - which lasts until Shrove Tuesday.

 

After that, you've got Lent, but (and particularly when Easter is late, as it was in 2011) the 'Seasonal celebrations' occupy most of winter, which probably takes peoples' minds off short days and long cold nights.

 

Most of the shops around here have their Christmas stock on display - and it's been on display for weeks.

 

(I'm not so sure that's entirely a good idea - many shops consider themselves to be 'Four Season' stores and change their stock periodically. Some of them (particularly those with corporate headquarters further North ) removed all their gardening supplies in mid-September and replaced them with Christmas stock.

 

This is the time of year people plant things. (No severe storms, temperatures in the mid to upper 20's )

 

I don't know whether putting up rows of imitation Christmas trees, tree decorations and childrens' toys 3 months early increases sales, but if the Christmas stock replaces other items which customers want to buy I doubt sales of those items are particularly strong.

[Suffragette1]

If you have a real tree, as we do, there's no point in getting in until mid-December, which is when we will get ours. Probably the week before Christmas.

[Mecky]

Mary's boy child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day ... How's that work then?

[Rupert_Baehr]

It's a song. How well it works depends on who's singing it.

 

does a pretty good job.

[enepsigos]

i have seen a few people who has already put up their decorations, whilst each to their own i say i would never put mine up so early, 12 days before i put them up and 12 days after i take them down, i know some people that have left the ouside light up all year round, they dont switch them on though.