ARE you still clinging on to the last magic of Christmas? Well if you still have your tree and decorations up, you have a few hours left before they should come down.
The Twelfth Night, the time decorations should come down according to tradition, officially falls tomorrow (Monday, January 5), the evening before the Epiphany is marked by the Church of England on January 6.
The Epiphany marks the visit of the Magi, or three Kings, to the baby Jesus, despite nativities often depicting them as present shortly after the birth in Bethlehem. It marks the event in which Christ was revealed as the son of God.
Some maintain the actual date of the Twelfth Night falls on the Epiphany, January 6, and churches often keep manger decorations up as part of Epiphany services. But it is largely accepted that decorations and trees in homes should come down on January 5.
And be warned, superstition suggests it is unlucky to leave decorations up in the home beyond the Twelfth Night, with anyone forgetting to take them down advised to leave them in place all year to avoid misfortune.
So if you want to avoid keeping your Christmas tree lights twinkling for the year, best to take them down.
And if you want to get rid of your tree, people are being urged to recycle them.
Residents in Hull are asked to put Christmas trees in the brown bin, or if they are too large, they can be taken to one of the household waste recycling centres in Burma Drive, Sutton Fields and Wiltshire Road.
In East Riding real trees that cannot be replanted can be taken to all household waste recycling sites, or left for collection next to residents' brown bins.
