SOMERSET NEWS: Get those Christmas decorations down or face a year of bad luck!

ALTHOUGH the majority of people will have taken their Christmas decorations down by now – those who have not have got to do so today (Thursday, January 5, 2017) or, if superstition is to be believed, face a year of bad luck.

The Twelfth Night (January 5) is widely considered to be the last day of the Christmas festivities. And, according to superstition, it is bad luck to leave your decorations up after the January 5.

This belief goes back to olden days when people used to decorate their homes with ivy and holly. People used to think tree spirits lived in the greenery and made sure all their festive ornaments and trimmings were taken down in the first week of the New Year to set them free.

If the custom was not followed, it was said to affect the vegetation and greenery for the next 12 months.

Twelfth Night is so-called because traditionally Christmas was a 12-day celebration beginning on December 25.

But this has led to some confusion, however, as some will class January 6 as Twelfth Night because it is the 12th day after Christmas.

But we believe that Twelfth Night falls on January 5 and Epiphany begins on January 6.

Epiphany marks the first day of the end of Christmas when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist and the Three Kings came to visit bearing gifts guided by the star which is now represented in the Christmas lights on trees in our homes.

Some people believe that taking down the Christmas lights before January 6 could lead to bad luck.

So we reckon people must get their decorations down on January 5 or January 6 at the very latest – just to be on the safe side.

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