The
Twelve Days
Why twelve days of Christmas? These days Christmas
starts around about September and finishes when the
sales begin on Dec 26th. But that's not how it used
to be.
The twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas day
and end on January 6th, which is called the Epiphany,
the day we remember the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus.
Earlier generations wouldn't have seen Christmas as
a day but season of twelve days, which would certainly
take the pressure off Christmas day itself.
The period between Christmas and Epiphany was the
time to celebrate. It was a time of feasting and a time
when the rich were supposed to share what they had with
the poor.
December 26th is St Stephen's Day, in Britain known
as Boxing Day. It got the name from the day that the
poor boxes in churches were opened and the Christmas
gift or Christmas box was given to the servants in rich
households. The carol Good King Wenceslas tells of one
action of kindness to the poor on Boxing Day. Although
there was a King Wenceslas, or a least a Prince of Bohemia
of that name, the story is totally fictional, made up
by the Victorian priest John Mason Neale to promote
charitable action.
The end the twelve days is Twelfth Night, a night
for a final party and the traditional time to take down
the decorations and get back to the real world.
