The 12 days of Christmas

At Towerwater we still celebrate a traditional Christmas that starts on 25 December and ends 12 days later on 6 January with the feast of the Epiphany.

We celebrate the 12 days of Christmas and even enjoy the cryptic carol of that name that does not really reflect the true meaning of the 12 days of Christmas.

When one celebrates a traditional Christmas, it is quite disturbing to see Christmas decorations in October in retail stores urging people into a frenzy of shopping. Then it all stops abruptly on 26 December with Christmas decorations ending up in sale bins. Here they lie embarrassingly forgotten, having to make way for Valentine’s Day items. This time, the objective is one of luring shoppers into a ‘romantic’ shopping frenzy.

We follow the tradition of bringing the Christmas tree into the house on Christmas Eve (the last day of Advent) and decorating it and the rest of the house. Then we wake up to a magical world of Christmas on the morning of 25 December. Christmas remains with us for the next 12 days until all the decorations are packed away on 5 January.

The decoration happens to the tune of carols that will be a big part of Christmas Day when we open our gifts and celebrate with family and friends by sharing a cooked lunch. We have contemplated switching to cold meats and salads, but Christmas calls for gammon, lamb and roast potatoes and our friend Carol’s flaming traditional Christmas pudding.

Christmas Day breakfast will be tea and Christmas mince pies. We fight the temptation to buy Christmas mince pies out of season. We keep that delicious fruity and spicy experience for the 12 days of Christmas.

Adoration of the Magi - Rubens - Prado, Madrid

Christmas starts on 25 December with the birth of the Christ child. 26 December is the feast of St Stephen when we show generosity to the needy. 27 December is the commemoration of St John the Evangelist, 28 December is the celebration of the Holy Innocents remembering the children murdered by Herod and finally on 6 January we celebrate the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three wise men or Magi to the Christ child.

It is said that the Twelfth Night comedy was written by William Shakespeare around 1601/2 as an entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. It was first performed on 2 February 1602 at Candlemas, a church celebration when you could take your candles that you were going to use for the year to be blessed. 

We love celebrating all major calendar events in the traditional way. What can be more traditional than celebrating a custom that was first proclaimed in 567 by the Council of Tours, when it was decided to celebrate the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany as the 12 days of Christmas. (Source: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm)