With temperatures dropping across Ireland, experts have revealed when households should ideally put up their Christmas decorations.
Christmas trees have started popping up in homes across Ireland in the past week(Image: Getty)
Temperatures have plummeted across Ireland in recent days. Some areas have even seen sprinkles of snow and Met Eireann has issued a low temperature and ice warning for 10 counties tonight, with lows of -3C expected.
With winter already making itself felt, it may be tempting for households to bring a bit of early festive cheer. Christmas trees have started popping up in homes across Ireland in the past week, leaving some wondering if it’s time to start decorating – even though the big day is still five weeks away.
But according to tradition, superstition and etiquette experts, there is a ‘right’ time to put up your decorations if you want to stay on the safe side of festive luck.
A new survey from tarot reading platform Tarotoo found that nearly 1 in 10 Irish people (9%) strongly believe putting your tree up too early brings bad luck, with another 16% somewhat agreeing. That means a quarter of all respondents think early decorating could tempt fate.
At the same time, almost half of the country (48%) disagrees with the superstition, including 30% who are strongly against the idea. Meanwhile, 28% remain undecided, showing that many Irish homes are still unsure about when it’s safe – or lucky – to start decorating.
So when is the ‘right’ time to put up your tree? Traditionally, many Irish households put up their Christmas trees around December 8, which is linked to the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Some homes may put them up a bit earlier, such as the first weekend in December or around the time of the Late Late Toy Show, on December 5 this year.
But etiquette experts say there is a clearer guideline based on tradition. Etiquette Consultant Jo Bryant explained: “There are no real rules, it’s a matter of what people want to do. However, Christmas does seem to be creeping earlier. In America, it rolls from Thanksgiving into Christmas and I think we’re starting to see Christmas earlier and earlier.”
For those who want a more official rule, Marie-Helene Ferguson, CEO and founder of the London School of Etiquette, points to the church calendar. She said: “There’s a clue in the name there, with Christmas! Advent is a church day, the beginning of the church year, and it’s different every year. So if you wanted a traditional reason for putting up your decorations, that would be as good a reason as any.”
Advent starts on Sunday, November 30, this year, which is the traditional and superstition-approved ‘safe’ date to decorate your home.
Bryant also warned that putting decorations up too early, especially real trees, can backfire for practical reasons. She told RTE: “The time to enjoy decorations is definitely before Christmas. If you have a real Christmas tree and put it up in November, it’ll be looking really tired by Twelfth Night, so you probably want to be hanging back until mid-December.”
She added that families with small children may want to decorate a bit earlier for excitement, saying: “If you have small children, you might put the tree up a little earlier for maximum enjoyment from it. If you want to start feeling festive a little earlier, popping a wreath up is quite a nice way to start marking the festive season without getting carried away too early.”
While superstition still plays a role in Irish homes, Tarotoo’s survey shows that many people are happy to decorate whenever it suits them.
Do you believe that putting up your Christmas tree too early brings bad luck?
- Agree (Net) 25%
- Strongly agree 9%
- Somewhat agree 16%
- Neither agree nor disagree 28%
- Somewhat disagree 18%
- Strongly disagree 30%
- Disagree (Net) 48%
The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of tarot reading platform Tarotoo, surveying 500 respondents aged 18 and over in Ireland between November 3 and November 17, 2025.
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