The Twelve Days of Christmas and What They Mean

The Twelve Days of Christmas commence on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and are traditionally festive and jubilant in that they celebrate the birth of Christ. Historically, the Twelve Days are known as Christmastide and Twelvetide.  The Twelfth Night of Christmas always falls on the evening of Jan. 5.

Days of special importance during the Twelve Days include:

-St. Stephen's Day which falls of Dec. 26 in the Western Church and on the 27th in the Eastern Church. St. Stephen was the first of the disciples of Jesus to receive the "crown of martyrdom."  In fact, the name "Stephen" in Greek means "crown" He was stoned to death for challenging who he perceived to be enemies of Jesus. He is mentioned in the English Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas.

-Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas and is observed as a legal holiday in Great Britain. Originally, this was the day that Britain's postal workers and tradespeople received their Christmas gifts.

-Childermas or the Feast of the Innocents is celebrated on Dec. 28 and refers to the Massacre of the Innocents whereby Herod the Great, the King of Judea, ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been proclaimed to him by the Magi. A familiar passage in the Old Testament makes reference to this incident: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children."  In some cultures, on this day, there continues a tradition whereby the youngest child in the family gets to rule the day dictating what the family eats, drinks, spends their time etc.

The Feast of the Epiphany, which falls on Jan. 6, follows the Twelfth Night.  "Epiphany" translated means "manifestation" and the early Christians believed that it was on this day that God as the Son in the person of the Infant Jesus was first revealed to them.  It is also believed that this is the day that the Magi bore their gifts to him. 

Today, it remains a custom for many people to take down their Christmas decorations on the Twelfth Day as it's thought to be bad luck to leave them up past this date. 

And as America becomes increasingly homogenized and Christmas more secularized the tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmash has largely become lost and forgotten.

Compiled from The Golden Bough by James Frazer, The Farmers' Almanac, www.fisheaters.com, Wikipedia, Catholic online