Our CareTaker wanted to help me take out our Christmas Decor today. I told her, we keep our decor after the Feast Of the Three Kings- the last day of the Christmas Season. Of the 10 houses in our neighborhood, seven took our their Christmas lights on December 26.
This incident inspired me to search for more information on the 12th day of Christmas. Here's a summary of what I learn from the Internet.
"Most people today believe that the twelve days of Christmas start on December 12th or 13th and run through Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. But in fact, the first day of Christmas is December 25th and the final day is January 5th. Thus, for hundreds of years the Christmas holidays didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and didn’t end until Epiphany.
https://youtu.be/vOwyMIoG5KI
Why were these twelve days important? These dozen days were tied to more than just the teaching of the Catholic Church. A host of other denominations also celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. Some denominations celebrated Christmas in January and began to count the twelve days then. But whenever they began, the counting of the days became an important facet of each holiday season. Even in the Dark Ages, in some Eastern European churches, the twelve days of Christmas meant attending daily church services.
For Christians who lived during this extremely difficult age, the twelve days were a time of re dedication and renewal. It was also a period when small, simple, and usually symbolic gifts of faith were given to children. Thus, in both coded poems and public worship, the twelve days were considered a holy period.
For many Christians today, even the recognition of the twelve days of Christmas has been lost . . . for two reasons. The first is that when Epiphany lost out to Christmas as the day of giving gifts, many simply quit celebrating the twelve-day observance. The other reason is based more on the change in the fabric of culture than on overlooking the Christian holiday of Epiphany.
In ancient times, when most societies were rural, few people worked in the dead of winter. It was a time when many were spending long, dark days inside their homes, looking forward to winter’s chill giving way to the spring thaw. So devoting a dozen days to prayer, reflection, and attending church was not a huge undertaking. Yet with the coming of the Industrial Age and the regular year-round work schedules it brought, finding time to continue the activities that had been traditionally associated with the twelve days of Christmas became all but impossible for most people.
So the passing of the twelve-days custom probably had as much to do with “progress” as with anything else. As fewer and fewer churches and families participated in the tradition, it was all but lost. Yet in the obscure poem that was later turned into a popular carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” live on. And the twelve days described are actually a wonderful and complete picture of the Christian faith.
The “true love” mentioned in the song is not a sweetheart but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents anyone who has accepted Christ as the Son of God and as Savior. And each of the gifts portrays an important facet of the story of true faith.
So, just a silly song? On the surface maybe, but in reality, a refreshing reminder of the essential elements of Christian faith. The twelve days of Christmas may no longer be a widely recognized holiday tradition, but the days were an important bridge that connected persecuted believers of the past with the whole story of God’s plan. In the complicated world of today, a trip back to the not-so-distant past when Christians celebrated the twelve days of Christmas would only enhance the meaning of Christmas for everyone".
For more information read:
https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/the-twelve-days-of-christmas.html
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