Twelve Days of Shell

Meta: the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is Christmas Day (December 25) itself:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas

The days before the 25th are part of the season of Advent:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent

Too many people I know spend their boxing day packing up their tree. Christmas is over before it's barely begun!

But that's kind of understandable when Christmas begins in September if you believe the retailers.

Indeed. Christmas lasts until Epiphany (January 6th) or even Candlemas (February 2nd).

Commercialism is likely the culprit for the current state of affairs. By putting the "Christmas season" and the commercialized variety of festivity before Christmas and making Christmas day the big finale, you create a situation during which you can get people to buy, buy, buy. And then it's over.

Compare that with the real deal and as it was traditionally celebrated. Advent is a period of contemplation, waiting, quiet, abstinence from meat -maybe even fasting - in anticipation for the birth of Christ. Then, on Christmas Eve and especially Christmas day, the festivities kick off, and they last until January 6th (the 12 days of Christmas) or Candlemas (40 days of Christmas). And that's when people used to pack up their trees and decorations (either Jan 6th or Feb 2nd).

People today suck at festivity. We're boring.