Blast! Just realised that it is the 7th....... I am either;
A. A Chav .....
B. In deep do do with the Tree Sprites.......
C. Both.......
.......as most of my Christmas decorations are still up! We made a start; the tree is outside, the lights packed up. Baby Jesus was eventually found and the crib is now complete and carefully wrapped. Phew. However, giant soft reindeer still skulk about, draggled from room to room by the sproglets and the forest of cards are still shedding glitter in every room!
Why is it bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night?
Long ago it was thought that leaving the decorations up would cause a disaster. People believed that tree-spirits lived in the greenery (holy, ivy etc) they decorated their houses with. The greenery was brought into the house to provide a safe haven for the tree-spirits during the harsh midwinter days. Once this period was over it was necessary to return the greenery back outside to release the tree-spirits into the countryside once again. Failure to do this would mean that vegetation would not be able to start growing again (spring would not return), leading to an agricultural disaster.
It was also thought that, if you left the greenery in the house, the tree-spirits would cause mischief in the house until they were released.
So that's where the 8yo and the 6yo came from! Gosh! ....... Maybe it's my fault that the snow's come back. Pesky pixies!
We had all ours packed away by the Twelfth Night... all except my Christmas wreath which we forgot about but as it's outside do you think it counts? I don't want to get into trouble so soon in 2011. Oh, and I'll send you an e-mail explaining where babies come from if you like but I'll give you a clue, it's not from tree spirits, although it can be as a result of spirits of another sort!
ReplyDeleteOh no maybe it is you that has brought the snow, oh and Mini doesnt have a phone, it was my ipod touch!
ReplyDeleteThe tree is still up and the wreath is still on the door providing safe haven for whatever tree sprite might have survived the holiday excesses. It is so wet and cold outside, I can't believe any sprite with a modicum of self preservation would want to be thrown out yet. As long as they don't drink us dry.
ReplyDeleteYeah, our tree and decorations are still up... too lazy to take them down. Sigh. One of these days... :-)
ReplyDeleteTaking them down is one thing. Getting them back in the box is quite another. Takes 2 fully grown adults' weight and a whole roll of packing tape. And then there's the job of actually shoving it back where it belongs. It's a 6 month's contract for sure. And then you'll find a tiny wooden santa on a tiny wooden sleigh with a tiny gold loop growing out of his tiny little head and AAAARRGGHHH. Solution - give to small child to play with. Goodbye tiny wooden santa. It was nice knowing you.
ReplyDeleteI took my down, I took my down!!! BTW does it count if you leave Christmas Tree in garage for 3 months?? Those green spirits will go flipping mad in there, but I don't really care as only old rusty bikes and broken stuff is out there.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, have also had massive difficulty getting all decorations back in box as they grow by the year, both in disgustingness, and in quantity. Cant wait for Tasteful Tree with Modest but Brilliant Decorations. Ours is Crap with loads of Stuff, bursting from each branch. Naff or What.
xxxx