When should Christmas start?

[Mervyn and Trish]

I love Christmas, but am I alone in hating it starting in November? All the shops already have their Christmas stock on display, the Christmas lights are going up and in a Costa coffee shop today they were playing Christmas music. I just don't want Christmas to last two months. It makes it less special somehow when we actually get to Christmas Eve. I don't mind a bit of a build up but it's getting bonkers and worse every year.. Am I alone or has the world, especially the commercial world, gone crazy?

[Manoverboard]

We used to love Christmas and the sharing of it with the children and grandchildren but sadly they grow up and Grand-Dad is suddenly demoted from a Cherokee Chief to an old F**t

So, these days our Christmas starts on the 21st of December and ends on the 30th

[Stephen]

When should Christmas start

One minute before New Year's Day .....bah humbug

[towny44]

As soon as Xmas shopping starts then the shops want to get you in a festive mood, in order to loosen the chains on your wallet.
Seems like a reasonable strategy from the stores point of view.

[david63]

When should Christmas start

One minute before New Year's Day .....bah humbug

Far too soon

[anniec]

I don't mind the run-up to Christmas. What I hate is afterwards, when it runs on until 2 January (or longer, if a weekend intervenes); looking forward to it is fine, looking back on it for over a week after is not. It's like celebrating your birthday for a fortnight after it's gone.

As far as I'm concerned, it finishes on Boxing Day. Just wish everyone else agreed!

[Mervyn and Trish]

When I used to work for the BBC, Christmas music, other than new releases, started two weeks before Christmas Day and ended on Boxing Day.

[Meg 50]

certainly not until after my birthday - which is next week.

preferably not til Advent Sunday, or Dec 1 which ever is first

[Meg 50]

I don't mind the run-up to Christmas. What I hate is afterwards, when it runs on until 2 January (or longer, if a weekend intervenes); looking forward to it is fine, looking back on it for over a week after is not. It's like celebrating your birthday for a fortnight after it's gone.

As far as I'm concerned, it finishes on Boxing Day. Just wish everyone else agreed!

strictly speaking it lasts from Christmas Eve until Epiphany ( Jan 6)

[anniec]

I don't mind the run-up to Christmas. What I hate is afterwards, when it runs on until 2 January (or longer, if a weekend intervenes); looking forward to it is fine, looking back on it for over a week after is not. It's like celebrating your birthday for a fortnight after it's gone.

As far as I'm concerned, it finishes on Boxing Day. Just wish everyone else agreed!

strictly speaking it lasts from Christmas Eve until Epiphany ( Jan 6)

Not in this house it doesn't. Bah humbug.

[Quizzical Bob]

From the 25th to the 26th December.

[ITWA Travel Writer]

For all of you misguided creatures, the origin of “Christmas”, was what was originally known as “Saturnalia”.

Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, which was a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17th and December 25th. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the celebration.

The festival began with each Roman community choosing “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule.” They selected a victim whom they then forced to indulge in food and many physical pleasures throughout the celebration. At the festival’s conclusion on December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.

By the 4th century CE, Christianity had imported the Saturnalia festival into their own tradition and by doing so hoped to eventually conjoin with the pagan majority and thus eventually destroy the pagan beliefs. The Christian leaders succeeded in converting many pagans to Christianity by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia.

The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.

Some of the most depraved customs of the Saturnalia carnival were intentionally revived by the Catholic Church in 1466 when Pope Paul II, for the amusement of his Roman citizens, forced Jews to race naked through the streets of the city. An eyewitness account reports, “Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for spectators. They ran… amid Rome’s taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.”

So there you go, all of you misguided creatures are unwittingly celebrating an old pagan Roman celebration. One of many I might add.

[Stephen]

certainly not until after my birthday - which is next week.

preferably not til Advent Sunday, or Dec 1 which ever is first

And mine, just in case you want send a card Meg

[Silver_Shiney]

I went past someone's house the day, he already had the Christmas lights on in his garden...

Our decorations usually went up on Christmas Eve and down on New Year's Day. More recently they've gone up a few days earlier ('cos my SIL wanted to do it) but, frankly, I'm increasingly resenting the upheaval in the house - it seems such a lot of effort and upheaval for a few days and increasingly detracts from what the celebration is really about (which, strictly speaking, should be held around August/September, 'cos in ancient Israel, shepherds did not go out washing their socks at night in December)

Ha bumhug

[suespud]

Mine starts when I start baking the Christmas Cakes..I have 11 wrapped and fed, doing another 4 today...christmas pinny and christmas songs a must!!!
My decs and trees are going up on 28th november, they stay will stay up till 2nd of January.
They are going up a little bit sooner as I am away the first weekend in december..and I need a whole weekend to do all the trees and cant leave it till the 11th !!! it would be hardly worth putting them up !!!
I have bought lots of new bits for the trees and house this year...not that I need them.
The grandchildren are already watching christmas movies ...Polar Express being the favourite of the twins.
Lots of christmas crafty things being made too.. Happy Days !! Love this time of year.

[allatc]

1st December would do for me.

[GillD46]

I have done almost all my shopping, I hate the shops near to Christmas, so try to do it before December, cards have been bought and written. Chocolate logs made - three for various family members. Decorations will go up on December 1st and come down, as always, on January 1st. I have bought a new tree and all new baubles for the tree in the sitting room this year, to match the decor.

November is time enough to start, bring it on!

Sue, it's " our" time of year, isn't it?

[Boris+]

We don't mark the religious and marketing pressured sort of xmas, we celebrate the end of a year hopefully well lived. It's a one day event for us, and then we quietly do the turning of the year a week later. However, inbetween the two dates we do intend to have some lovely rambles and picnics.

Having said that, there are presents to get etc., and so the answer for us is that xmas should start (for anyone and everyone) when it is convenient and when you personally feel comfortable with the whole thing. If you feel that you need to get to the shops to ensure that you purchase something which is likely to be in short supply well then get stuck in. On the other hand, if you don't feel pressurised by the whole thing (and for us it's simply one day, not a whole 7-10 day event), then start when it feels right for you.

So, our gift shopping and any food shopping etc will be done as and when we are out and about. We will probably do our tree etc on 01 December - simply because that is what we've always done, and it's a suitable day for us this year.

[suespud]

I have done almost all my shopping, I hate the shops near to Christmas, so try to do it before December, cards have been bought and written. Chocolate logs made - three for various family members. Decorations will go up on December 1st and come down, as always, on January 1st. I have bought a new tree and all new baubles for the tree in the sitting room this year, to match the decor.

November is time enough to start, bring it on!

Sue, it's " our" time of year, isn't it?

Ohhh Indeed it is our time of year Gill...lolol
Maybe this year I might be able to post pics.. I couldnt manage to do it last year

Sue
xx

[screwy]

Never...whats wrong with just celebrating one birthday..your own.!!!!!!

[david63]

We don't mark the religious and marketing pressured sort of xmas ...

... there are presents to get etc.

Isn't that a contradiction?

[Gill W]

I'm sure, years ago, the adverts started at the beginning of December, but these days they start on the dot of the 1st November, and I get heartily sick of them. There's either the sickly sweet ones or the ones with tables groaning with the weight of food. Both sorts promote an idealised version of Christmas, that some people feel they have to aspire to, and then get upset when it's not perfect.

We don't buy many presents these days, but I'll buy them by the end of November. I'll write my cards and the beginning of December. The decorations usually go up about two weekends before Christmas, this year that'll be around 12th-13th December and they'll come down after New Years Day.

I quite like the time between Christmas and New Year. It's time out from the hustle and bustle of normal life, and I've always found it to be very relaxing. Even when I was at work, it was always quiet and relaxed for those few days.

I know some people who put their decorations up very early, but they take them down on 26th December - that's a bit of a shame - the best bit of the festive season is those quiet few days between 25th to 31st

[Silver_Shiney]

We don't mark the religious and marketing pressured sort of xmas ...

... there are presents to get etc.

Isn't that a contradiction?

I'd wondered that!!

[Silver_Shiney]

I'm sure, years ago, the adverts started at the beginning of December, but these days they start on the dot of the 1st November, and I get heartily sick of them. There's either the sickly sweet ones or the ones with tables groaning with the weight of food. Both sorts promote an idealised version of Christmas, that some people feel they have to aspire to, and then get upset when it's not perfect.[/quote

Which, IMHO, pressurises people into going into debt to pay for it, which simply cannot be right.

We don't buy many presents these days, but I'll buy them by the end of November. I'll write my cards and the beginning of December. The decorations usually go up about two weekends before Christmas, this year that'll be around 12th-13th December and they'll come down after New Years Day.

The Lady C used to buy her Christmas pressies in January when the sales were on! She's not that organised these days

[Boris+]

We don't mark the religious and marketing pressured sort of xmas ...

... there are presents to get etc.

Isn't that a contradiction?

Hi David and Alan,

No, it's not a contradiction - we celebrate (just for one day) having completed a year well lived. As it seems likely that it's going to be a 'quiet' day (no shops etc) we give out gifts beforehand, and have a lovely quiet day in our own way, just quietly and contentedly.

We offend nobody, and we enjoy ourselves - nothing wrong with that. Then we get 'back to normal' for a couple of days, and then celebrate the first day of the new year in a similar way. The gifts are done again, and we celebrate all we plan and hope to do in the year ahead, just quietly and hopefully.