Happy New Year, everyone.

I don't think it's too late to say that.

And welcome to Christmas Past's first episode of 2021.

Now, something very special has happened since the last time you heard from me.

Christmas Past has hit a major milestone in surpassing 1 million downloads. That's something

that the majority of podcasts will never do, let alone one about a niche topic, and where 90%

of the interest is confined to just six weeks out of the year. This feels like a big deal,

and of course I have you to thank for it. You're the ones doing all that downloading after all, so thank you, for every time you've

listened to the show or recommended it to a friend or left a review.

All of those things help to grow the show and the Christmas past family.

And I've got some plans and surprises in store for this year, just like I do every year,

so stay subscribed and keep on listening. But now it's time for the big question for Christmas lovers this year, just like I do every year, so stay subscribed and keep on listening.

But now it's time for the big question for Christmas lovers this time of year.

As we near the end of January, do you still have your decorations up?

You know, the length of the Christmas season has always been fluid and largely arbitrary.

Nowadays in America, we recognize the season as the span between

Thanksgiving and Christmas, but that's only been true since the early 20th century. So when you

put your decorations up and when you take them down isn't set in stone. Most people do it right

around New Year's Day. In some places, it's considered bad luck to leave them up after January 6th,

which marks the epiphany at the end of the 12 days of Christmas. But in times gone by,

people would leave their trees up until February 2nd for the Christian celebration of candle moss.

No matter when you take your decorations down, if you put up a real Christmas tree, you've got

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