Now that Christmas Day has come and gone, how long do you keep up your holiday decorations? Do you take them down after New Year’s Day?
Here’s why you shouldn’t feel obligated to remove your decor right away.
Some people take down their Christmas decorations right after Christmas Day, while some wait until Jan. 2. However, you actually have a couple of days after New Year’s because the Christian calendar says the Christmas season is not over until the epiphany.
Jan. 6 marks the Christmas epiphany, also known as Three Kings’ Day, in many Christian calendars. It is celebrated mainly by Catholics or orthodox Christians.
The day celebrates the baptism of Jesus when he was 30 and began to teach people about God. It also celebrates the visit of the three wise men revealing the importance of Christ.
It is now a tradition for churches worldwide to celebrate the epiphany for Jesus and the three wise men, or three kings. In the Catholic church, the day is considered a holy day of obligation.
In Mexico, the epiphany is called “El Dia de los Reyes,” which translates to the day of the kings.
A special cake called king cake or “rosca de reyes” is made and a little toy of baby Jesus is placed inside the cake. If your slice has the baby Jesus in it, you are considered the godparent to Jesus for that year.