Period between 25 December and 5 January
The
Twelve Days of Christmas
, also known as the
Twelve Days of Christmastide
, are the festive
Christian
season celebrating the
Nativity
.
Christmas Day
is the First Day. The Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, counting first and last. The
Octave
, or Eighth Day, is
New Year's Day
and the
Feast of the Circumcision
, the day
Jesus
was circumcised according to the faith. The evening of the last day is
Twelfth Night
or Epiphany Eve,
[1]
[2]
the next morning being
Epiphany
.
For Christian denominations such as the
Anglican Communion
or the
Lutheran Church
, the Twelve Days are identical to
Christmastide
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
For the
Roman Catholic Church
, however, Christmastide lasts longer, running through the
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
.
[6]
[7]
For some, the Twelve Days are considered December 26 to January 6,
[8]
thus including Epiphany.
History
[
edit
]
In 567, the
Council of Tours
"proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to
Epiphany
(that is, through the end of 5 January, as Epiphany begins the following day) as a sacred and festive season, and established the duty of
Advent
fasting in preparation for the feast."
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Christopher Hill, as well as William J. Federer, states that this was done in order to solve the "administrative problem for the Roman Empire as it tried to coordinate the
solar
Julian calendar
with the
lunar calendars
of its provinces in the east."
[
clarification needed
]
[13]
[14]
Eastern Christianity
[
edit
]
The
Armenian Apostolic Church
and
Armenian Catholic Church
celebrate the Birth and Baptism of Christ on the same day,
[15]
so that there is no distinction between a feast of Christmas and a feast of Epiphany.
The
Oriental Orthodox
(other than the Armenians), the
Eastern Orthodox
, and the
Eastern Catholics
who follow the same traditions have a twelve-day interval between the two feasts. Christmas and Epiphany are celebrated by these churches on 25 December and 6 January of the
Julian calendar
, which correspond to 7 and 19 January on the Gregorian calendar. The Twelve Days, using the Gregorian calendar, end at sunset on 18 January.
Eastern Orthodoxy
[
edit
]
For the Eastern Orthodox, both Christmas and Epiphany are among the
Twelve Great Feasts
that are only second to
Easter
in importance.
[16]
The period between Christmas and Epiphany is
fast-free
.
[16]
During this period one celebration leads into another. The Nativity of Christ is a three-day celebration: the formal title of the first day (i.e.
Christmas Eve
) is "The Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ", and celebrates not only the
Nativity of Jesus
, but also the
Adoration of the Shepherds
of
Bethlehem
and the arrival of the
Magi
; the second day is referred to as the "
Synaxis
of the
Theotokos
", and commemorates the role of the
Virgin Mary
in the
Incarnation
; the third day is known as the "Third Day of the Nativity", and is also the
feast day
of the
Protodeacon
and
Protomartyr
Saint Stephen
. 29 December is the Orthodox Feast of the
Holy Innocents
. The
Afterfeast
of the Nativity (similar to the Western
octave
) continues until 31 December (that day is known as the Apodosis or "leave-taking" of the Nativity).
The
Saturday
following the Nativity is commemorated by special readings from the
Epistle
(
1 Tim 6:11?16
) and
Gospel
(
Matt 12:15?21
) during the
Divine Liturgy
. The
Sunday
after the Nativity has its own liturgical commemoration in honour of "The Righteous Ones:
Joseph the Betrothed
,
David the King
and
James the Brother of the Lord
".
Another of the more prominent festivals that are included among the Twelve Great Feasts is that of the
Circumcision of Christ
on 1 January.
[16]
On this same day is the feast day of
Saint Basil the Great
, and so the service celebrated on that day is the
Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil
.
On 2 January begins the
Forefeast
of the
Theophany
. The Eve of the Theophany on 5 January is a day of strict
fasting
, on which the devout will not eat anything until the first star is seen at night. This day is known as
Paramony
(Greek Παραμον? "Eve"), and follows the same general outline as Christmas Eve. That morning is the celebration of the
Royal Hours
and then the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil combined with
Vespers
, at the conclusion of which is celebrated the
Great Blessing of Waters
, in commemoration of the
Baptism of Jesus
in the
Jordan River
. There are certain parallels between the
hymns
chanted on Paramony and those of
Good Friday
, to show that, according to
Orthodox theology
, the steps that Jesus took into the Jordan River were the first steps on the way to the
Cross
. That night the
All-Night Vigil
is served for the Feast of the Theophany.
Western Christianity
[
edit
]
Within the Twelve Days of Christmas, there are celebrations both secular and religious.
Christmas Day
, if it is considered to be part of the Twelve Days of Christmas and not as the day preceding the Twelve Days,
[3]
is celebrated by Christians as the
liturgical
feast of the
Nativity of the Lord
. It is a public holiday in many nations, including some where the majority of the population is not Christian. On this see the articles on
Christmas
and
Christmas traditions
.
26 December is "
St. Stephen's Day
", a feast day in the
Western Church
. In the
United Kingdom
and its former colonies, it is also the secular holiday of
Boxing Day
. In some parts of Ireland it is denominated "
Wren Day
".
New Year's Eve
(31 December) is the feast of
Pope St. Sylvester I
and is known also as "
Silvester
". The transition that evening to the new year is an occasion for secular festivities in many nations, and in several languages is known as "St. Sylvester Night" ("
Notte di San Silvestro
" in Italian, "
Silvesternacht
" in German, "
Reveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre
" in French, and "
???????
" in Hebrew).
New Year's Day
(1 January) is an occasion for further secular festivities or for rest from the celebrations of the night before. In the
Roman Rite
of the
Roman Catholic Church
, it is the
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
, liturgically celebrated on the
Octave Day
of Christmas. It has also been celebrated, and still is in some denominations, as the
Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
, because according to Jewish tradition He would have been circumcised on the eighth day after His Birth, inclusively counting the first day and last day. This day, or some day proximate to it, is also celebrated by the Roman Catholics as
World Day of Peace
.
[17]
In many nations, e. g., the United States, the
Solemnity of Epiphany
is transferred to the first Sunday after 1 January, which can occur as early as 2 January. That solemnity, then, together with customary observances associated with it, usually occur within the Twelve Days of Christmas, even if these are considered to end on 5 January rather than 6 January.
Other
Roman Catholic
liturgical feasts on the
General Roman Calendar
that occur within the Octave of Christmas and therefore also within the Twelve Days of Christmas are the
Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
on 27 December; the
Feast of the Holy Innocents
on 28 December;
Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr
on 29 December; and the
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas or, if there is no such Sunday, on 30 December. Outside the Octave, but within the Twelve Days of Christmas, there are the feasts of Sts.
Basil the Great
and
Gregory of Nazianzus
on 2 January and the
Memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus
on 3 January.
Other saints are celebrated at a local level.
Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
[
edit
]
The
Second Council of Tours
of 567 noted that, in the area for which its bishops were responsible, the days between Christmas and Epiphany were, like the month of August, taken up entirely with saints' days. Monks were therefore in principle not bound to fast on those days.
[18]
However, the first three days of the year were to be days of prayer and penance so that faithful Christians would refrain from participating in the idolatrous practices and debauchery associated with the new year celebrations. The
Fourth Council of Toledo
(633) ordered a strict fast on those days, on the model of the
Lenten
fast.
[19]
[20]
England in the Middle Ages
[
edit
]
In England in the Middle Ages, this period was one of continuous feasting and merrymaking, which climaxed on Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the
Christmas season
on 5 January (the last night before Epiphany which started 6 January).
William Shakespeare
used it as the setting for one of his most famous stage plays,
Twelfth Night
. Often a
Lord of Misrule
was chosen to lead the Christmas revels.
[21]
Some of these traditions were adapted from the older
pagan
customs, including the
Roman
Saturnalia
and the Germanic
Yuletide
.
[22]
Some also have an echo in modern-day
pantomime
where traditionally authority is mocked and the principal male lead is played by a woman, while the leading older female character, or 'Dame', is played by a man.
[
specify
]
Colonial North America
[
edit
]
The early North American colonists brought their version of the Twelve Days over from England, and adapted them to their new country, adding their own variations over the years. For example, the modern-day Christmas
wreath
may have originated with these colonials.
[23]
[24]
A homemade wreath would be fashioned from local greenery, and fruits, if available, were added. Making the wreaths was one of the traditions of
Christmas Eve
; they would remain hung on each home's front door beginning on Christmas Night (first night of Christmas) through Twelfth Night or Epiphany morning. As was already the tradition in their native England, all decorations would be taken down by Epiphany morning and the remainder of the edibles would be consumed. A special cake, the
king cake
, was also baked then for Epiphany.
Modern Western customs
[
edit
]
United Kingdom and Commonwealth
[
edit
]
Many in the UK and other
Commonwealth
nations still celebrate some aspects of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Boxing Day
, 26 December, is a national holiday in many Commonwealth nations.
Victorian era
stories by
Charles Dickens
, and others, particularly
A Christmas Carol
, hold key elements of the celebrations such as the consumption of
plum pudding
, roasted goose and
wassail
. These foods are consumed more at the beginning of the Twelve Days in the UK.
Twelfth Night
is the last day for decorations to be taken down, and it is held to be bad luck to leave decorations up after this.
[25]
This is in contrast to the custom in Elizabethan England, when decorations were left up until
Candlemas
; this is still done in some other Western European countries such as Germany.
United States
[
edit
]
In the United States,
Christmas Day
is a federal holiday which holds additional religious significance for Christians.
[26]
The traditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas have been nearly forgotten in the United States. Contributing factors include the popularity of the stories of
Charles Dickens
in nineteenth-century America, with their emphasis on generous giving; introduction of secular traditions in the 19th and 20th centuries, e. g., the American
Santa Claus
; and increase in the popularity of secular
New Year's Eve
parties. Presently, the commercial practice treats the
Solemnity of Christmas
, 25 December, the first day of Christmas, as the last day of the "Christmas" marketing season, as the numerous "after-
Christmas
sales" that commence on 26 December demonstrate. The commercial calendar has encouraged an erroneous assumption that the Twelve Days
end
on Christmas Day and must therefore begin on 14 December.
[27]
Many American Christians still celebrate the traditional
liturgical
seasons of
Advent
and Christmas, especially
Amish
,
Anglo-Catholics
,
Episcopalians
,
Lutherans
,
Mennonites
,
Methodists
,
Moravians
,
Nazarenes
,
Orthodox Christians
,
Presbyterians
, and
Roman Catholics
. In
Anglicanism
, the designation of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" is used liturgically in the
Episcopal Church in the US
, having its own
invitatory
antiphon
in the
Book of Common Prayer
for
Matins
.
[4]
Christians who celebrate the Twelve Days may give gifts on each of them, with each of the Twelve Days representing a wish for a corresponding month of the new year. They may feast on traditional foods and otherwise celebrate the entire time through the morning of the
Solemnity of Epiphany
. Contemporary traditions include lighting a candle for each day, singing the verse of the corresponding day from the famous
The Twelve Days of Christmas
, and lighting a
yule log
on Christmas Eve and letting it burn some more on each of the twelve nights. For some, the
Twelfth Night
remains the night of the most festive parties and exchanges of gifts. Some households exchange gifts on the first (25 December) and last (5 January) days of the Twelve Days. As in former times, the Twelfth Night to the morning of Epiphany is the traditional time during which
Christmas trees
and
decorations
are removed.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hatch, Jane M. (1978).
The American Book of Days
. Wilson.
ISBN
9780824205935
.
January 5th: Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve. Twelfth Night, the last evening of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas, has been observed with festive celebration ever since the Middle Ages.
- ^
Alexander, J. Neil (1 September 2014).
Days, Weeks, and Seasons
. Church Publishing.
ISBN
978-0-89869-874-9
.
There are, in fact, twelve days between Christmas Day and the eve of the Epiphany on January 5.
- ^
a
b
Bratcher, Dennis (10 October 2014).
"The Christmas Season"
. Christian Resource Institute
. Retrieved
20 December
2014
.
The Twelve Days of Christmas ... in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). In some traditions, the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas (December 26th). In these traditions, the twelve days begin December 26[th] and include Epiphany on January 6[th].
- ^
a
b
"The Book of Common Prayer"
(PDF)
. New York: Church Publishing Incorporated. January 2007. p. 43
. Retrieved
24 December
2014
.
On the Twelve Days of Christmas
Alleluia. Unto us a child is born: O come, let us adore Him. Alleluia.
- ^
Truscott, Jeffrey A.
Worship
. Armour Publishing. p. 103.
ISBN
9789814305419
.
As with the Easter cycle, churches today celebrate the Christmas cycle in different ways. Practically all Protestants observe Christmas itself, with services on 25 December or the evening before. Anglicans, Lutherans and other churches that use the ecumenical
Revised Common Lectionary
will likely observe the four Sundays of Advent, maintaining the ancient emphasis on the eschatological (First Sunday), ascetic (Second and Third Sundays), and scriptural/historical (Fourth Sunday). Besides Christmas Eve/Day, they will observe a 12-day
season
of Christmas from 25 December to 5 January.
- ^
"Christ's baptism ends the Christmas season"
. Catholic Diocese of Little Rock. 9 January 2022
. Retrieved
5 December
2023
.
- ^
Bl. Pope Paul VI,
Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year
, #33 (14 February 1969)
- ^
Blackburn, Bonnie J. (1999).
The Oxford companion to the year
. Holford-Strevens, Leofranc. Oxford.
ISBN
0-19-214231-3
.
OCLC
41834121
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Fr. Francis X. Weiser.
"Feast of the Nativity"
. Catholic Culture.
The Council of Tours (567) proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast. The Council of Braga (563) forbade fasting on Christmas Day.
- ^
Fox, Adam (19 December 2003).
"
'Tis the season"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
25 December
2014
.
Around the year 400 the feasts of St Stephen, John the Evangelist and the Holy Innocents were added on succeeding days, and in 567 the Council of Tours ratified the enduring 12-day cycle between the nativity and the epiphany.
- ^
Hynes, Mary Ellen (1993).
Companion to the Calendar
. Liturgy Training Publications. p. 8.
ISBN
9781568540115
.
In the year 567 the church council of Tours called the 13 days between December 25 and January 6 a festival season.
Martindale, Cyril Charles (1908).
"Christmas"
.
The Catholic Encyclopedia
. New Advent
. Retrieved
15 December
2014
.
The Second Council of Tours (can. xi, xvii) proclaims, in 566 or 567, the sanctity of the "twelve days" from Christmas to Epiphany, and the duty of Advent fast; …and that of Braga (563) forbids fasting on Christmas Day. Popular merry-making, however, so increased that the "Laws of King Cnut", fabricated c. 1110, order a fast from Christmas to Epiphany.
- ^
Bunson, Matthew (21 October 2007).
"Origins of Christmas and Easter holidays"
.
Eternal Word Television Network
(EWTN)
. Retrieved
17 December
2014
.
The Council of Tours (567) decreed the 12 days from Christmas to Epiphany to be sacred and especially joyous, thus setting the stage for the celebration of the Lord's birth...
- ^
Hill, Christopher (2003).
Holidays and Holy Nights: Celebrating Twelve Seasonal Festivals of the Christian Year
. Quest Books. p. 91.
ISBN
9780835608107
.
This arrangement became an administrative problem for the Roman Empire as it tried to coordinate the solar Julian calendar with the lunar calendars of its provinces in the east. While the Romans could roughly match the months in the two systems, the four cardinal points of the solar year--the two equinoxes and solstices--still fell on different dates. By the time of the first century, the calendar date of the winter solstice in Egypt and Palestine was eleven to twelve days later than the date in Rome. As a result the Incarnation came to be celebrated on different days in different parts of the Empire. The Western Church, in its desire to be universal, eventually took them both--one became Christmas, one Epiphany--with a resulting twelve days in between. Over time this hiatus became invested with specific Christian meaning. The Church gradually filled these days with saints, some connected to the birth narratives in Gospels (Holy Innocents' Day, December 28, in honor of the infants slaughtered by Herod; St. John the Evangelist, "the Beloved," December 27; St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, December 26; the Holy Family, December 31; the Virgin Mary, January 1). In 567, the Council of Tours declared the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany to become one unified festal cycle.
Federer, William J. (6 January 2014).
"On the 12th Day of Christmas"
. American Minute
. Retrieved
25 December
2014
.
In 567 AD, the Council of Tours ended a dispute. Western Europe celebrated Christmas, 25 December, as the holiest day of the season... but Eastern Europe celebrated Epiphany, 6 January, recalling the Wise Men's visit and Jesus' baptism. It could not be decided which day was holier, so the Council made all 12 days from 25 December to 6 January "holy days" or "holidays," These became known as "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
- ^
Kirk Cameron
, William Federer (6 November 2014).
Praise the Lord
.
Trinity Broadcasting Network
. Event occurs at 01:15:14. Archived from
the original
on 25 December 2014
. Retrieved
25 December
2014
.
Western Europe celebrated Christmas December 25 as the holiest day. Eastern Europe celebrated January 6 the Epiphany, the visit of the Wise Men, as the holiest day... and so they had this council and they decided to make all twelve days from December 25 to January 6 the Twelve Days of Christmas.
- ^
Kelly, Joseph F (2010).
Joseph F. Kelly,
The Feast of Christmas
(Liturgical Press 2010 ISBN 978-0-81463932-0)
. Liturgical Press.
ISBN
9780814639320
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kallistos Ware,
The Orthodox Church
- ^
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "World Day of Peace"
- ^
Jean Hardouin; Philippe Labbe; Gabriel Cossart (1714).
"Christmas"
.
Acta Conciliorum et Epistolae Decretales
(in Latin). Typographia Regia, Paris
. Retrieved
16 December
2014
.
De Decembri usque ad natale Domini, omni die ieiunent. Et quia inter natale Domini et epiphania omni die festivitates sunt, itemque prandebunt. Excipitur triduum illud, quo ad calcandam gentilium consuetudinem, patres nostri statuerunt privatas in Kalendariis Ianuarii fieri litanias, ut in ecclesiis psallatur, et hora octava in ipsis Kalendis Circumcisionis missa Deo propitio celebretur. (Translation: "In December until Christmas, they are to fast each day. Since between Christmas and Epiphany there are feasts on each day, they shall have a full meal, except during the three-day period on which, in order to tread Gentile customs down, our fathers established that private litanies for the
Calends
of January be chanted in the churches, and that on the Calends itself
Mass
of the
Circumcision
be celebrated at the eighth hour for God's favour.")
- ^
Christopher Labadie, "The Octave Day of Christmas: Historical Development and Modern Liturgical Practice" in
Obsculta
, vol. 7, issue 1, art. 8, p. 89
- ^
Adolf Adam,
The Liturgical Year
(Liturgical Press 1990
ISBN
978-0-81466047-8
), p. 139
- ^
Frazer, James
(1922).
The Golden Bough
. New York: Macmillan.
ISBN
1-58734-083-6
.
Bartleby.com
- ^
Count, Earl (1997).
4,000 Years of Christmas
. Ulysses Press.
ISBN
1-56975-087-4
.
- ^
New York Times
, 27 December 1852: a report of holiday events mentions 'a splendid wreath' as being among the prizes won.
- ^
In 1953 a correspondence in the letter pages of
The Times
discussed whether Christmas wreaths were an alien importation or a version of the native evergreen 'bunch'/'bough'/'garland'/'wassail bush' traditionally displayed in England at Christmas. One correspondent described those she had seen placed on doors in country districts as either a plain bunch, a shape like a torque or open circle, and occasionally a more elaborate shape like a bell or interlaced circles. She felt the use of the words 'Christmas wreath' had 'funereal associations' for English people who would prefer to describe it as a 'garland'. An advertisement in
The Times
of Friday, 26 December 1862; pg. 1; Issue 24439; col A, however, refers to an entertainment at Crystal Palace featuring 'Extraordinary decorations, wreaths of evergreens ...', and in 1896 the special Christmas edition of
The Girl's Own Paper
was titled 'Our Christmas Wreath':The Times Saturday, 19 December 1896; pg. 4; Issue 35078; col C. There is a custom of decorating graves at Christmas with somber wreaths of evergreen, which is still observed in parts of England, and this may have militated against the circle being the accepted shape for door decorations until the re-establishment of the tradition from America in the mid-to-late 20th century.
- ^
"Epiphany in United Kingdom"
.
timeanddate.com
. Retrieved
31 December
2016
.
- ^
Sirvaitis, Karen (1 August 2010).
The European American Experience
. Twenty-First Century Books. pp.
52
.
ISBN
9780761340881
.
Christmas is a major holiday for Christians, although some non-Christians in the United States also mark the day as a holiday.
- ^
HumorMatters.com
Twelve Days of Christmas
(reprint of a magazine article). Retrieved 3 January 2011.
Sources
[
edit
]