There is a tradition amongst some in the Midwest that involves keeping your Christmas tree for 365 days. This tradition is loosely based on Twelfth Night, but is still its own thing. A number of Iowans keep this tradition alive.

While it's a bit of a fire hazard and the beginnings of this tradition are a bit hazy, people like my grandfather have celebrated this event their entire life. He always would say the best part of this tradition is in Spring.

 

The Legend

There are a few legends with this tradition as well. For instance, if a Robin builds a nest in your tree you will have good luck. Most of the time these nests show up in Spring.

Another one is that if the tree keeps some of its green you'll find love.

Last year my grandfather was blessed with some good luck with a robin's nest!

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The Robins

He is a big animal lover, so I knew how excited he would be to watch and see if any eggs would show up. He kept me updated with texts and photos. Usally updates were simple,

No eggs yet...

Thankfully in mid-May of last year, I got this photo,

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His text said,

Robins :)

This year has had worse weather so sadly no nest has been put upon in his tree this year, but there is still plenty of time!

While this tradition isn't the most popular one out there, I've noticed a fair number of Iowans who celebrated in one way or another. Sometimes people celebrate because they are lazy, and don't want to throw out the tree, others are based on genuine tradition.

Do you have a friend or family member who celebrates this random tradition, or is this your first time hearing about it?

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