When Is the Best Time to Put Up a Christmas Tree? Experts Name Two Key Conditions

To answer when exactly to put up a New Year tree, you first need to get answers to two other questions. They will directly determine the date suitable specifically for you to install the main decoration of the upcoming holiday.

The Tree by Advent Rules

Firstly, it all depends on your family’s level of religiosity. After all, a decorated tree is more an attribute of Christmas than New Year’s. If the religious aspect of the holiday is important to you, then you’ll likely prefer to put up the tree in accordance with religious traditions. In the European tradition, the tree is put up on the very first day of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. So, this year your tree should have been standing since November 30th. And, according to church traditions, the tree was only taken down after the Twelfth Night after Christmas, that is, on January 5th.

However, nowadays, even in Europe, this tradition is rarely followed. Most often, decorating the Christmas tree is left until the 20s of December, and for many it has become a real family tradition to decorate the tree on Christmas Eve, December 24th.

According to Dr. Martin Johnes, a researcher and author of the book «Christmas and the British: A Modern History,» it is now believed that decorating the house for Christmas early is unlucky.

However, as noted by Chris Craig, director of a British Christmas tree manufacturing company, over the past 30 years, the timing when Europeans start buying holiday trees en masse has noticeably shifted, and closer to those very traditional, religious deadlines—the end of November/beginning of December, i.e., the start of Advent.

According to Hannah Fleming, curator of the Geffrye Museum, London’s museum of interiors, this shift may be related to the commercialization of the holiday itself. And not only due to the appearance of artificial fir trees and active advertising of Christmas paraphernalia, which starts being sold earlier and earlier each year. According to the specialist, the spread of particularly resilient varieties of coniferous needles (for example, Scandinavian firs), which last much longer than the European spruce and pine trees we are used to, has greatly contributed to this.

«It’s quite logical—if you can buy a tree earlier so that the needles don’t fall off by Christmas, then you can enjoy the beauty longer,» Fleming noted in a comment to the British publication GoodHousekeeping.

Real vs. Artificial

This is already the second fundamental question on which the timing of installing your tree depends. If for Christmas you take down a plastic beauty from the attic, which has become a family rarity, you can afford to stretch the enjoyment of the Christmas vibe over a longer period. If you are a supporter of real trees and buy fresh, fragrant greenery every year, you’ll have to time it so that the forest beauty lasts until both Christmas and New Year’s and doesn’t shed its needles by the chimes and the blasts of festive fireworks.

In the case of a real tree, it’s best to put it up 7-10 days before the New Year—this way it will surely please you at least until Orthodox Christmas, which is important for many Belarusians.

The Best «Folk» Dates for Installing the New Year Tree

You can also rely on folk signs in this matter. So, it is believed that it is best to decorate the tree and house for Christmas on «male» days of the week, that is, Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. The day of the winter solstice, which falls on December 22nd, is also considered an excellent day for this.

By the way, experts claim that good-quality Christmas trees should retain freshness for about five weeks. The main thing is to take care of them correctly, and then even the earliest installation dates won’t be a problem.

The main rules for a real tree to keep it fresh longer:

• Let the tree «rest» before bringing it from outside into the house—a sudden temperature change can be stressful for the tree.

• A cut tree is best placed in water and the water regularly replenished—burying the cut trunk in the ground will only clog the tree’s pores and make it harder for it to absorb moisture.

• Keep the tree away from heat sources—placing it in a corner right next to a radiator is not the best idea.

Does Decorating the Tree Cause a Neurological Shift?

By the way, according to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, early decoration of the house for Christmas and New Year can trigger a neurological shift in a person. But, as interior designer Ness Hancock noted, this is more good news than a cause for concern.

As psychologists have noted, by surrounding themselves with pleasant holiday little things, decorating the Christmas tree and house early, a person experiences a surge of dopamine—the hormone of good mood, so this mandatory Christmas tradition can indeed improve your mental state during the usually difficult and quite tense December period.

On the other hand, if you postpone decorating the house until the last minute, there’s a risk of breaking down into neurosis because everything has to be done in a rush and haphazardly. That’s exactly why psychologists recommend doing Christmas preparations in advance.

Even if you decide to put up the tree at the last moment, right before the holidays, it’s better to stock up on everything necessary for decoration in advance—take inventory of Christmas ornaments so as not to search the nearest trinket shop on the evening of December 24th for a replacement for a favorite cracked glass topper, check the working condition of the string lights, and plan other household chores to carve out time for the actual tree decoration—it’s not a quick process.

Well, and most importantly, the tree should be installed only when you are in the mood for it—then the process will be enjoyable, and the result won’t be forced, and will surely please both you and those around you.