The twelve days last from Christmas through Epiphany (when the High Church celebrates the arrival of the wise men). Depending on when the church denomination starts the count, it may begin the evening of December 25th (or the morning of the 26th) and run through the evening of January 5th (or the morning of the 6th).
After extensive research, I believe that this is a fairly accurate outline of the feasts of the twelve days, as well as why they are celebrated.
Day
of Christmas
|
When
|
Why
|
First
day of Christmas:
|
December
26th:
|
Feast
of St. Stephen (1st Martyr)/Boxing Day. Give to the Poor
|
Second
day of Christmas:
|
December
27th:
|
Feast
of St. John the evangelist. Lots of candles. Remember martyrs.
Reconciliation.
|
Third
day of Christmas:
|
December
28th:
|
Feast
of Holy Innocents. Pro-life. Remember genocide victims.
|
Fourth
day of Christmas:
|
December
29th:
|
Feast
of St. Thomas Beckett (Archbishop of Canterbury, stood for justice and died).
Fight injustice
|
Fifth
day of Christmas:
|
December
30th:
|
Feast
of the Holy Family (First Sunday after Christmas)
|
Sixth
day of Christmas:
|
December
31st:
|
St.
Sylvester’s Night (pope). Pardon those you hurt. Welcome
neighbors/family-bring symbol of God’s Blessing from past year. Make
noise-not caught sleeping (Luke 12:35-40)
|
Seventh
day of Christmas:
|
January
1st:
|
Feast
of Mary, mother of God. New beginnings. Bless family members. OR
Feast
of Circumcision of Our Lord
|
Eighth
day of Christmas:
|
January
2nd:
|
St.
Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen-4th century teachers of
Trinity. Spend time with friends . OR
Day
of St. Stephen
|
Ninth
day of Christmas:
|
January
3rd:
|
Feast
of the Holy Name of Jesus (if no Sunday between Jan. 1st and 6th).
Meaning of our names and why chosen
Day
of St. John.
|
Tenth
day of Christmas:
|
January
4th:
|
unknown
(Elizabeth Ann Seton??)
Day
of Holy Innocents
|
Eleventh
day of Christmas:
|
January
5th:
|
unknown
(John Neumann??)
Vigil
of Feast of Epiphany
|
Twelfth
day of Christmas:
|
January
6th:
|
Epiphany
(and blessing). Magi
|
January
13th
|
Baptism
of the Lord, closing of Epiphany
|
That's a lot of feasts there, Liz. I know, right? The nerd in me anticipates doing research on these events and the people mentioned.
What's the difference between the feast of the holy innocents (day 3) and the day of holy innocents (day 10)? Good question. Don't know. :-)
Now I admit, these celebrations are very high church, very Catholic. Not every denomination pays attention to Saints.
But putting this aside, I ask, is it bad to give to the poor (day 1)?
Remember martyrs (day 2)?
Remember genocide victims and be pro-life (day 3)?
To fight injustice (day 4)?
To pardon those you've hurt (day 6)?
To bless your family and start anew (day 7)?
To spend time with friends (day 8)?
To swap stories about name meanings and reasons for names (day 9)?
To remember that the wise men really didn't come to the stable (day 12)?
To re-read the story of Jesus' baptism (January 13th)?
Even if you're not a fan of the high church, I think the twelve days of Christmas may provide an opportunity for fellowship and compassion, and as such, fit in with the Christmas spirit.
Elizabeth - i never knew this. Thanks for the info. Love, mom
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such an informative and interesting post Liz. :) I hope more people get to read this post and appreciate the true Christian celebration of Christmas and know that Christmas day is not the end but actually the beginning of the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth and life.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy researching topics, especially related to Church history. God Bless!!
ReplyDelete