Am I totally out of step with Switzerland or is it a cantonal thing? Some of my neighbours still have their decorations up. Ours came down on January 5th (before 12th night) to ensure good luck for the whole of 2008. Two people over the road to me still have inverted V shaped lights in their windows and another has a tree with lights on it still. Daughter is very jealous and I need to be able to give her a sensible reason for us not having anything festive.

Possibly there are still on holidays abroad :-) or...
Xmas decorations are so expensive in Switzerland and therefore they decided to get the best out the investment :-)

Cheers

I would hate anyone to think I am a nosy neighbour, but I can see into the flats opposite and they aren't on holiday. Maybe it's the cost factor and getting value for money - although the V shaped things are individual bulbs built up in the shape and run on electricity. Maybe I'll never know

Taking down your decorations leads to good luck?!? I guess I never got that memo...

It was on the same memo with star signs, the toothfairy, santa and god.

I think, much like at our house, they are either too busy or too lazy to take them down. I think we kept the LED lights near the door frame up all year (just not lit)

The last time i put up Chrissie lights i had to cut them out of the tree 3 years later with pliers, so now my Swiss wife is in charge of the lights and i keep a eye on the the beer fridge light.

Thanks for the replies. The down before 12th night thing is maybe British (or maybe just my Mum's own invention), all I know is I want the chuffing things down as soon as possible. The tree and all the other knickery and knackery drive me to distraction

My father insists that all Christmas decorations have to be down and away before 12 on the 6th January - else it brings bad luck for the rest of the year. Everyone in my father's family follows this tradition (although no one knows the reason behind it). My mum had never heard of it before she met him and thinks it's a weird idea!

Thanks Kalli, it's good to know I am not totally mad. What nationality are you? I wonder if it is a Brit/East London thing?

I grew up in Yorkshire......leaving Christmas decorations up pst midnight on Twelth Night (Jan 6) was an absolute no-no................as was putting them up before Christmas Eve

Apparently if you don't take them down by twelfth night some joker sends round 12 dummers drumming, 11 ladies dancing, 10 lords a-leaping, 9 pipers piping and a whole load of other unsavoury characters and birds...

I also grew up in Yorkshire. The decorations were definitely down by the Twelfth Night, but we used to put them up something like the second weekend in December.

in germany we keep it up until 06th of january, after the epiphany (?) = hl. 3 könige and throw stuff away on 07th of january.

i dont think it got anything to do in CH with money/expensive decorytions but with being lazy...

If there are still decorations inside the house, I think it is just lazyness. Still outside, maybe its to cold to take it down.

Some Christians observe the 12 days of Christmas which finishes on 6 Jan- Epiphany.
A lot of Latin America observe the presentation of Jesus into the Temple which is 40 days and finishes on 2 Feb known as Candlemas.
Maybe your neighbours are from there,
All those RE lessons from the nuns at my school.....

You mean they might be jonny foreigners?

Coming up here with their fancy 2nd of Feb traditions?

Yeah.. How dare they!! Mind you I could be completely off track .No doubt I will be corrected

Hi! My father & family are English - they are from London - the bit you have to come from to be a cockney. Not sure whereabouts that is though!

East London (strictly speaking within the sound of Bow bells). Are they real cockneys - like what I am or are they in the mold of Dick Van Dyke and his luvverley cockerney accent in Mary Poppins