- Tree goes up
- 12 December (Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe), the widely cited start of the “Guadalupe-Reyes marathon”
- Tree comes down
- 6 January (Día de los Reyes Magos / Three Kings Day), with final nativity closure at Candlemas (2 February)
- Local superstition
- No strong tree-specific bad-luck belief documented; the season’s structure (Guadalupe-Posadas-Navidad-Reyes-Candelaria) is built around sequential feast days rather than removal superstition.
Why that date
The Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint, marks the informal start of the holiday season, though the nativity scene (“nacimiento”) is generally considered more central than the tree itself; Las Posadas processions run 16-24 December.
What actually happens
Mexico’s season, often nicknamed the “Guadalupe-Reyes marathon”, is unusually long and structured — 12 December to 6 January for the main season, extending to 2 February (Candlemas) for the final nativity closure — a genuinely distinctive multi-stage local calendar.
Taking it down again
6 January (Día de los Reyes Magos / Three Kings Day), with final nativity closure at Candlemas (2 February). No strong tree-specific bad-luck belief documented; the season’s structure (Guadalupe-Posadas-Navidad-Reyes-Candelaria) is built around sequential feast days rather than removal superstition.
If you would rather not have this argument again next year, the calendar reminder on the home page will put both dates straight into your phone.
Other countries
When the answer is finally yes
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