What ARE The Twelve Days of Christmas?

Epiphany by Janet McKenzie

Just what are the twelve days of Christmas? Well, the commercial community will have you believe they are the twelve days before Christmas, during which you need to spend, spend, spend to make sure you give your family and friends their due gifts. It's a cynical slap at what used to be twelve days of merrymaking between Christmas Day—the first Day of Christmas—and January 5, which is celebrated as Twelfth Night. (Those in Shakespeare's time knew this, hence his play, "Twelfth Night," as the merrymaking reaches its peak.)

January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, generally regarded as the date on which the magi from the east found the child Jesus. (The Bible makes no mention of three "kings" or three of anything at all, except the gifts that are mentioned: gold, frankincense, and myrrh—and these may be symbolic. The magi or "wise men" are never said to be kings, and they do not arrive at the stable along with the shepherds—the translation clearly indicates a house, and Jesus is described as a "young child," not a baby. They may have reached the family several years after his birth, which explains Herod's order to kill all male children up to two years old.)

Even then, Christmastide is not over for many segments of the population. Scandinavians celebrate until January 13, "Knut," when they dance around the Christmas tree and then plunder its contents (since the tree is often decorated with cookies). Eastern Orthodox Christians still use the Julian calendar, so Christmas falls on January 7 and Epiphany (Theophany) is not until the 19th.

Even further in the past, folks left up their Christmas greenery until Candlemas, February 2. But, after that, it's bad luck to keep it up. (This may come from sensible reasoning: Christmas greens back then were fresh, and the longer they remained up, the drier and more flammable they became!)

* * Wikipedia Entry * *