Festive households rush to put up their Christmas trees weeks before the holiday — but don’t seem to know when to take them down.
And the answer to that can vary depending on the type of Tannenbaum you have — or what traditions you follow.
The National Fire Protection Association warns against keeping a live tree indoors for more than a month because drying needles pose a fire hazard.
Unlike artificial trees, which have no restrictions, the takedown is up to the owner.
However, many Christians remove their holiday decor on January 6 for religious purposes.
Christian tradition dictates that the holiday officially ends on Twelfth Night, also known as the Eve of the Epiphany, which many celebrate 12 days after Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, Catholic Christmas tradition calls for the pine trees to remain standing tall until February 2 — 40 days after Christmas — to honor the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
And if you’re a believer in superstitions, some believe the longer you keep your tree up, the joyous Christmas spirit can turn into bad luck.
But even if your love of Christmas has nothing to do with its origins, experts recommend removing your tree no later than January 6.
There are many ways to repurpose your used pine, you could cut it up for firewood, shred it for mulch, build a bird sanctuary with the branches.
Or, as previously reported by The Post, you could turn your pine tree into an edible treat.
“The way that generally I cook with [Christmas trees] is to use the needles like an herb, in the same way that you might use rosemary. You use the rosemary to flavor a dish but you don’t necessarily eat the rosemary itself,” UK artisan baker and cook Julia Georgallis, author of “How to Eat Your Christmas Tree,” told Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street last week.
Georgallis’s cookbook, published in 2020, contains more than 30 recipes for everything from Christmas-cured fish to Christmas tree vinegar and Christmas tree & ginger ice cream.
