- Tree goes up
- Western-style decorated Christmas trees are typically put up for New Year’s Eve (31 December), not for Orthodox Christmas (7 January); the true “Christmas Eve” custom instead involves burning a Badnjak (oak branch/log)
- Tree comes down
- No single fixed date functions as an Epiphany-style close in the way it does in the West; New Year decorations typically come down around mid-January after Serbian (Orthodox) New Year on 13/14 January
- Local superstition
- No prominent bad-luck superstition documented around the decorated tree; the Badnjak-burning ritual carries its own set of blessings and customs rather than a removal taboo.
Why that date
The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, placing Christmas on 7 January (Gregorian) and New Year on 13 January (“Serbian New Year”); the ceremonial Badnjak, burned on Badnji Dan (6 January), is the genuine traditional “Christmas Eve tree” equivalent, distinct from a decorated fir tree.
What actually happens
Genuinely distinctive: actual Western-style decorated Christmas trees in Serbia are associated with secular New Year’s Eve (31 December), NOT with Orthodox Christmas — the religious Christmas Eve custom instead centres on the Badnjak (oak branch or log), which is brought into the church or home and ceremonially burned on 6 January.
Taking it down again
No single fixed date functions as an Epiphany-style close in the way it does in the West; New Year decorations typically come down around mid-January after Serbian (Orthodox) New Year on 13/14 January. No prominent bad-luck superstition documented around the decorated tree; the Badnjak-burning ritual carries its own set of blessings and customs rather than a removal taboo.
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.
Sources
Other countries
When the answer is finally yes
The bit you actually need
A short, unsentimental list. We only link to categories worth browsing, not to a hundred near-identical products.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links marked “Browse on Amazon” are paid links — if you buy something after clicking one, this site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change the dates. See our affiliate disclosure.