National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day Date in the current year: January 6, 2024

National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day is one of the many holidays invented by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, also known as the Queen of Holidays. She came up with a string of Christmas-related holidays to help people get into the festive mood and then gently ease them back into their “normal” routines, starting with National Christmas Tree Day (December 8) and ending with National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day (January 6).

But why January 6? There are different customs regarding when the Christmas tree should be taken down depending on the country. Many Christians take down the Christmas tree right after Christmastide, which begins on Christmas and ends on Epiphany Eve, also known as the Twelfth Night. Depending on the tradition, the Twelfth Night is observed on January 5 or 6.

However, in some Christian denominations it is common to leave the Christmas tree and decorations until Candlemas, which is observed on February 2. In Russia and some other former Soviet states, many people take down the New Year’s tree on January 13 or 14 (New Year’s Eve and Day in the Julian calendar, respectively) because it traditionally marks the end of the holiday season. In the United States, some people take down the tree the day after Christmas, on New Year’s Day, or whenever they find time to do it without sticking to a particular date. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal preference.

Since a lot of people around the world follow the Twelfth Night tradition, Shoemaker-Galloway decided that January 6 was an appropriate date for National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day. Moreover, in some English-speaking countries there is a superstition that leaving Christmas decorations after the Twelfth Night brings bad luck, so here is one more reason to take down your Christmas tree on January 6.

Taking down the Christmas tree might make you feel sad, but it doesn’t have to! National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day is a great occasion to throw a party and transform a sad event into a merry one. Appetizers, drinks, and music will help you set a cheerful mood and make the process of taking down Christmas decorations and getting rid of the tree less depressing.

If you have an artificial Christmas tree, you will simply store it in a safe place until the next holiday season (but don’t forget to clean the branches first). If you opted for a real tree this year, you should know that there are plenty of eco-friendly ways to repurpose it instead of simply throwing the tree away. You can use the branches to make bird feeders, put the needles into small fabric bags to make fragrant sachets, or participate in a recycling program where you make a donation to a charitable organization, and they get your tree recycled.