Wherever people celebrate Christmas, the chances are the decorations will be taken down today (January 6).
Marking the twelfth day of Christmas, January 6 (or sometimes the evening of January 5, depending on how you count the days) is also known as Twelfth Night and is traditionally when people are expected to bring down the Christmas tree and other festive décor, or risk bad luck.
However, despite being known for her commitment to traditions, the late Queen Elizabeth II would always ignore this and choose to keep the Sandringham Christmas decorations up for longer. A lot longer.
Many sources suggest the decorations were kept all the way until February 6.
The reason, though, isn’t just that Her Majesty loved the festivities. For the late Queen, staying in Sandringham with all the trappings and delights of the festive season until the anniversary of the date she officially became monarch was her way of remembering her father, and perhaps a simpler time in her own life.
The Queen’s father, George VI, died when he was just 56 years old, on February 6, 1952. The young Princess Elizabeth wasn’t in the country for her father’s passing, rushing back to London after receiving the news, and returning to her homeland as Queen.
This touching tradition was observed by the late Queen for the majority of her historic 70 year reign, but recent reports suggest that King Charles may break with it.
It’s thought the King will spend most of January in Scotland as he cements his own traditions and customs. The King and Queen Camilla did remain in Sandringham until at least New Year’s Eve though, with Camilla’s wintry accessory and sky blue outfit delighting fans at the end of year church service.
Reports suggest the couple were expected to fly up to Aberdeenshire to spend the next few weeks at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate, where they enjoyed their honeymoon.
The late Queen choosing to keep the Christmas cheer longer than most isn’t the only touching way she would try to make the festive season special in honour of her father.
At Sandringham, it is reported she would do her best to create authentic family moments, choosing to eschew the grander spectacles of the likes of Buckingham Palace for more low-key, DIY decorations.
As mentioned on the official royal website, members of the royal family “usually put the final touches on their Christmas tree” when together in Sandringham.
Her Majesty would also follow the tradition set by her father (and his father before him), choosing to gift a total of about 1500 Christmas puddings to her staff, including palace personnel, police, and Post Office workers.
Each pudding - a spiced fruit cake - came with a personal greeting card from both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
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