Christmas trees
 

Is it time to throw them out?,or is it still too soon?

mine is sitting on my front lawn right now

Throw it out. You don't want that fire hazard in your house for much longer. ;)

Let it die peacefully in the comforts of your attic.

Let it die peacefully in the comforts of Shorty's attic. Lord knows his Bengals dreams die there every year.

Back off, this year they are undefeated.

BEEOTCH!

Thrown out the Sunday after christmas.... and took the lights down then too.

Courtesy of my grandmother, the "traditional" time to throw out your tree is Epiphany - which is January 5th.

Yep, they should be thrown out the 12th day after Christmas for luck...although I'm not entirely sure if it then becomes bad luck if you chuck 'em out earlier or later...

I still have my last three christmas trees sitting in my backyard....

I guess there are some advantages to living in woods in the middle of nowhere...

Most big cities have a program where you can donate the tree to either the park department (to use as mulch) or to the zoo (to use as animal food). Sometimes they will even pick it up. In Lincoln Nebraska, you can take it to the park department and they will chip it for you into mulch. You can either leave them the mulch or take it home with you.

Not to be picky Corbes, but granny got it wrong....Epiphany is January 6th...

What is Epiphany? I know the meaning of the word, but I've never heard of a day called Epiphany.

*raises hand sheepishly*

We have a fake tree. But we also went out of town for 9 days, and there's no way I would have even considered leaving a real tree to dry out in the living room and catch fire while we were gone.

I don't see a problem with this really. When I was growing up we had a very nice fake tree, but would buy a real tree every 2nd or 3rd year.

As long as I can get a nice tree for $35-$40 at home depot, I don't think I'll mind having a real tree, but I certainly wouldn't mind cutting that expense out of Xmas and going fake.

I started to type this up myself, but then decided a web-search would be more fruitful and complete. So here ya go:

In Western churches, Epiphany remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King. In some Central and South American countries influenced by Catholic tradition, Three Kings’ Day, or the night before, is the time for opening Christmas presents. In some eastern churches, Epiphany or the Theophany commemorates Jesus’ baptism, with the visit of the Magi linked to Christmas. In some churches the day is celebrated as Christmas, with Epiphany/Theophany occurring on January 19th.

The colors of Epiphany are usually the colors of Christmas, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and hope that mark the most sacred days of the church year. In traditions that only observe a single day for Epiphany, the colors are often changed after Epiphany to the colors of Ordinary Time, usually green or thematic sanctuary colors, until Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Lent.

As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.

The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often create between God’s children.

The Feast of the Epiphany is on January 6th, aka 'Feast of the Holy Kings' or 'Three Kings Day'. Traditionally celebrates the arrival of the Magi (We Three Kings...), their adoration, etc. Historically in the church, iirc, it was a day of baptism, etc.

Never let it be said that thirteen years of Catholic school went to waste.

Yeah, uh, WSU wins.

Well, now I know.

Thanks, guys.

Fake tree? Careful what you say, son. That's reason for death in some parts...


:)