When should we pack tinsel away?

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me – the box to take the Christmas decorations down,

writes Sue Austin.

But this year has seen a debate over which day the tinsel and baubles should be packed away.

Arguments are raging over whether the decorations should come down today, January 6, or yesterday, January 5.

For while traditionally households have taken down their decorations on January 6, Britain's most famous Christmas tree came down in Trafalgar Square yesterday.

The debate centres over whether the decorations should be taken down on the Twelfth night which falls on January 5, or on the day of Epiphany which is today.

The latter is said to be the day when the three wise men, or the Magi, visited the baby Jesus, taking with them their gifts of gold, frankincense or myrrh.

This may come as a surprise to many youngsters, whose school nativity plays see the shepherds and the kings, as well as angels and all manner of animals, depending how big the class is, arriving on the night of the birth.

But churches across Shropshire and Mid Wales were celebrating the Magi's arrival today. And many will have kept their own church decorations up for their special services.

However if the decorations are supposed to come down on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, then officially they should have all been packed away yesterday. Superstition says that bad luck will come into the home if they remain up.

Many a household, fed up with the twinkling lights and cards gathering dust on the mantlepiece, will have already put decorations up in the loft for another 11 months.

What's your opinion? Use the comment box below to tell us when you packed away your decorations.