Latest news with #TwelveDaysofChristmas
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
It's 5 months until Christmas today & I'm only just taking my tree down – I know it's tacky but I loved living with it
WITH five months today until Christmas day, a man has revealed that he is finally taking his tree down. Back in February, Advertisement 2 A man has shared that with five months until Christmas, he has finally decided to take his tree down Credit: tiktok/@ryanruckledge 2 But Ryan Ruckledge left viewers gutted with his decision and many begged him to leave it up Credit: tiktok/@ryanruckledge But now, with just 22 Fridays until December 25th, Ryan, who Ryan gave his followers a close-up look at his stunning Christmas tree, which is decorated with large silver and pink baubles. Not only this, but unlike conventional The Blackpool-based content creator uploaded his short clip online with the caption 'My Christmas tree is FINALLY coming down,' leaving many totally stunned. Advertisement Read more Fabulous stories Standing next to his pride and joy which he has loved living with, he then said: 'My tree is coming down - I was gonna keep it up all year [but] it's gotta go.' Reflecting on the 'good times' with his tree, the influencer, who has over 210,000 followers on TikTok, added: 'We've had many good times, me and this tree. 'It got in the newspapers, someone stole a photo of the Christmas tree, uploaded it on a raffle page, tried to claim it as their own and won a prize, somebody uploaded it in South Africa as their own, but it's gotta go.' Despite many praising his tree as 'pretty,' Ryan admitted his real thoughts on it, as he continued: 'Who'd have thought this tacky tree would have got so much attention? But it's time to say goodbye.' Advertisement Most read in Fabulous As he took a sip of cider, he joked: 'It's the end of an era. Let's raise a toast.' The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @ Little-known fate of Rockefeller Christmas tree as it's transformed into life-changing gift that 'stays in home forever' But social media users were gobsmacked by Ryan's decision to take his 'stunning' tree down and many eagerly urged him to leave it up. One person said: 'I'll be sad to see it go.' Advertisement We're over halfway through 2025 now, it's closer to Christmas. May as well keep it up TikTok user Another added: 'Your tree is stunning.' A third commented: 'But it's so pretty.' When should I take my Christmas tree down? Traditionally, many people take down their Christmas trees after the Twelve Days of Christmas, which end on January 5th or 6th (also known as Epiphany). This marks the arrival of the three wise men in the Nativity story. However, there's no strict rule about when to take it down. Some wait until New Year's Day or shortly after, while others prefer to take it down in the days leading up to or just after the New Year. Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference or any family traditions you might have. In some cultures, it's considered bad luck to keep the tree up after January 6th, as it's thought that leaving it up longer could prevent good fortune in the coming year. However, these are just traditions and superstitions. In reality, there's no harm in keeping the tree up longer if you enjoy it. If the tree is still in good shape and you're enjoying the holiday spirit, there's no reason to rush to take it down. At the same time, one user beamed: 'We're over halfway through 2025 now, it's closer to Christmas. May as well keep it up.' Someone else agreed: 'It is closer to Christmas than last Christmas though, so may as well keep it up surely.' Advertisement Whilst one woman sobbed: 'Nooooo might as well keep it up.' Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
It's 5 months until Christmas today & I'm only just taking my tree down – I know it's tacky but I loved living with it
WITH five months today until Christmas day, a man has revealed that he is finally taking his tree down. Back in February, Ryan Ruckledge, a content creator from the UK, claimed that he was too lazy to take his beautifully-decorated tree down and expressed his intentions to keep it up all year. But now, with just 22 Fridays until December 25th, Ryan, who first rose to fame on Big Brother and The X Factor, took to social media and confessed he has decided the time has come to 'say goodbye' to his jaw-dropping festive decor. Ryan gave his followers a close-up look at his stunning Christmas tree, which is decorated with large silver and pink baubles. Not only this, but unlike conventional Christmas trees, Ryan's is also covered in pink and gold ribbon, as well as pampas grass. The Blackpool -based content creator uploaded his short clip online with the caption 'My Christmas tree is FINALLY coming down,' leaving many totally stunned. Standing next to his pride and joy which he has loved living with, he then said: 'My tree is coming down - I was gonna keep it up all year [but] it's gotta go.' Reflecting on the 'good times' with his tree, the influencer, who has over 210,000 followers on TikTok, added: 'We've had many good times, me and this tree. 'It got in the newspapers, someone stole a photo of the Christmas tree, uploaded it on a raffle page, tried to claim it as their own and won a prize, somebody uploaded it in South Africa as their own, but it's gotta go.' Despite many praising his tree as 'pretty,' Ryan admitted his real thoughts on it, as he continued: 'Who'd have thought this tacky tree would have got so much attention? But it's time to say goodbye.' As he took a sip of cider, he joked: 'It's the end of an era. Let's raise a toast.' The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @ ryanruckledge, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as in just 16 hours, it has quickly racked up 123,700 views, 5,514 likes and 135 comments. Little-known fate of Rockefeller Christmas tree as it's transformed into life-changing gift that 'stays in home forever' But social media users were gobsmacked by Ryan's decision to take his 'stunning' tree down and many eagerly urged him to leave it up. One person said: 'I'll be sad to see it go.' We're over halfway through 2025 now, it's closer to Christmas. May as well keep it up TikTok user Another added: 'Your tree is stunning.' A third commented: 'But it's so pretty.' When should I take my Christmas tree down? Traditionally, many people take down their Christmas trees after the Twelve Days of Christmas, which end on January 5th or 6th (also known as Epiphany). This marks the arrival of the three wise men in the Nativity story. However, there's no strict rule about when to take it down. Some wait until New Year's Day or shortly after, while others prefer to take it down in the days leading up to or just after the New Year. Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference or any family traditions you might have. In some cultures, it's considered bad luck to keep the tree up after January 6th, as it's thought that leaving it up longer could prevent good fortune in the coming year. However, these are just traditions and superstitions. In reality, there's no harm in keeping the tree up longer if you enjoy it. If the tree is still in good shape and you're enjoying the holiday spirit, there's no reason to rush to take it down. At the same time, one user beamed: 'We're over halfway through 2025 now, it's closer to Christmas. May as well keep it up.' Someone else agreed: 'It is closer to Christmas than last Christmas though, so may as well keep it up surely.' Whilst one woman sobbed: 'Nooooo might as well keep it up.'
New Statesman
21-05-2025
- Business
- New Statesman
PMQs review: Will Labour's winter fuel U-turn work?
Photo by House of Commons Well, you heard it here it first. The decision to cut winter fuel payments for most pensioners has proved toxic, as Labour MPs have increasingly been realising on the doorsteps and in their constituencies. This morning, George Eaton reported that the government too was coming round to the view, with whispers of a potential U-turn in the works. That U-turn (if we can call it that – which we'll come on to in a second) was the centrepiece of today's PMQs. Answering a friendly planted question from Labour MP Sarah Owen before the main head-to-head with Kemi Badenoch, Keir Starmer delivered the news of the day. 'As the economy improves, we want to make sure people feel those improvements in their days as their lives go forward,' the Prime Minister told the House. 'That is why we want to ensure that, as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments.' He continued that the decision would only be announced as part of a fiscal event. So mark your diaries for 11 June, when Rachel Reeves will deliver the government's first multi-year spending review (though No 10 has hinted we might not get changes on this until the Autumn Budget.) Quite what this means remains to be seen. No details were forthcoming in this session, despite attempts to get further answers out of the PM. Badenoch, clunkily pivoting from her pre-planned script, pressed Starmer for a yes or no answer on whether he was planning a U-turn. Ed Davey said the Prime Minister had 'teased the House', using one of his questions to ask if he would commit to reversing the winter fuel cuts in full. Unsurprisingly, Starmer simply repeated what he'd already said in both instances. Nor did we get any clues from the Chancellor's expression. In slightly awkward timing given the major announcement concerning her brief, Reeves is now en route to a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada. The Treasury is understood to be looking at changing the threshold at which winter fuel payments are withdrawn, ensuring it reaches more of the most vulnerable pensioners, rather than considering restoring it as a universal benefit. Whether that will be enough to undo the damage done to Labour's popularity because of the policy isn't clear, but expect the government to sell the announcement (whatever it is) as both proof that ministers are listening to voter concerns, and as something they are only able to do thanks to good economic management since the election, which has seen the country's fortunes improve. Starmer made a good start at this argument today, despite a barrage of questions from Badenoch – hooked off today's less than ideal inflation figures – suggesting the exact opposite. It was a belligerent session, full of accusations of who had damaged the economy more. The Prime Minister got in his usual dig about the 'disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget' and seemed to be composing a new Labour version of the Twelve Days of Christmas with talk of four Bank of England interest rate cuts, three trade deals and a growing economy (catchy). He gleefully seized on the shock poll putting the Tories in third place (more on that from me here), saying Badenoch had 'lost control of her party' and accusing the Conservatives of 'sliding into oblivion'. Badenoch was also feeling belligerent (the poll clearly hasn't put her in a good mood). She leaned into reports of Angela Rayner petitioning the Chancellor for further tax rises, suggesting the Deputy Prime Minister was 'on manoeuvres' and demanding eight new tax rises. (Rayner's face at this moment was a picture.) Sharp observers will note the Tory leader's trap of pressing Starmer to rule out any further tax rises in this parliament, and the PM's evident failure to do so. There was some very scrappy back and forth, with Badenoch saying Labour backbenchers looked 'sick' at the government's decisions and asking for a show of hands of who had supported the winter fuel cuts, only for Starmer to quip back that his MPs 'look in pretty good form, and there's lots of them!' Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe But as is becoming increasingly commonplace at PMQs, the most dramatic moment was nothing to do with Badenoch. With Nigel Farage off on his holidays, it fell to Lee Anderson to lead the attack from Reform. The Tory MP-turned-Reform whip suggested Starmer had misled 'gullible backbenchers' about the number and nature of migrant deportations and asked how many of these had been failed asylum seekers. Again, Starmer looked like he had prepared far more for this question than for anything Badenoch had asked. He pointed out that, for all that this is an obsession for Reform, the party had voted against the borders bill the government has brought forward to tackle this illegal migration. 'They don't want to fix this problem because it benefits them,' Starmer declared, accusing Reform of putting 'party before country'. Patriotism (or lack thereof) is one of Labour's key attack lines against Nigel Farage and Reform – both in terms of Farage's closeness to Donald Trump and past admiration for Vladimir Putin, and now with a domestic slant too. Starmer was ready for a jibe against Farage and his holiday too, saying he was 'the first through the e-gates' (a reference to the EU reset deal the Reform leader had been absent for). 'Nice work if you can get it,' he added, with a pun (Nice as in the French town – get it?) that really doesn't work written down and, to be honest, did not sound brilliant in the chamber either, though it got a roar of predictable laughter anyway. No prizes for guessing who Starmer sees as Labour's main opposition today. [See also: The EU-UK reset exposes the limits of a 'geopolitical Europe'] Related
