When to Take Down Your Christmas Tree

Are you a teensy bit superstitious? Or maybe you just like adhering to ye olde time-worn traditions? Well, turns out there's quite a bit of superstition and tradition associated with when to take down your Christmas tree. Yes, you can just pack your tree and all those glittery decorations whenever. But if you want to do things by the book, let one of the following dates be your guide:

December 31: Take your tree down on New Year's Eve before the bells toll at midnight. Otherwise it's said you'll be dragging all your baggage and bad luck from 2009 into 2010 ... if you're superstitious about these things, that is.

January 5: Take your tree down on this day, traditionally considered the Twelfth Day of Christmas – i.e. the last of twelve days of Christmas merriment. Think of it as getting closure on the Holiday season.

January 6: Take it down on January 6 in observance of the Epiphany, a Christian holiday marking the revelation of God in human form, in the person of Jesus. Again, some would say leaving your tree up beyond the 5th or 6th brings bad luck.

Can't get it together to dismantle everything by January 6? Don't feel bad! Instead, focus on the positive with this fun list of 10 reasons to keep your tree up into January (...or beyond?).

And for ways to recycle your Christmas tree once it's taken down, watch this video: