Like other holiday traditions, the twelve days of Christmas have roots that extend back in time prior to the birth of Christ.

A year and some days

Our calendar year is based on the orbit of the Earth around the sun. One solar year is the time it takes for the Earth to move around the sun and return to the same point. The problem in making calendars has always been and continues to be that the time it takes for the Earth to travel completely around the sun and back to the same spot in it's orbit is 365 1/4 days. Every year, then, our 365-daycalendar varies from the actual solar year by 6 hours. In our modern calendar system, we bring everything back into alignment every four years by adding an extra day to February.

In earlier calendar systems--going back to ancient Egypt and Greece--there were civil calendars, with extra days at the end of the year that were "beyond" civil time. These days were given to honoring the gods--a period of time outside of regular time that honored the unseen workings behind the physical world. These extra days were so ingrained in the life of the times that when Christianity developed, the extra days were devoted to the saints, and in A.D. 569 the Council of Tours made them part of the Christian festival of Christmas.

The concept of having a winter respite from the normal activity of life actually has a root in nature. The Winter Solstice is so-called because the word "solstice" literally means "sun stands still"--and it does. If you look in an ephemeris (a book that tells where the sun, moon, and all the planets are in the sky on any given day, as seen from Earth) you'll see that the sun actually stays at the same degree of the zodiac for approximately nine days--four days before and four days after the solstice day. If one is counting days by the movement of the sun through the zodiac, time actually stops because the sun is moving so little that it remains in the same degree of the zodiac circle for nine days. In ancient times, the progress of civil life "stood still" just as the sun did.

The twelve days after Christmas

Though they have earlier origins, the twelve days of Christmas are firmly established in the Christian tradition. Following the earlier Jewish tradition, the Christian church used the seasons of the year as an opportunity for festivals and holidays to teach their religion. The sequence of festivals throughout the year act as a framework to reflect on the life of Jesus and learn more about his teachings. They divide the year into "seasons," one of them being the season of Christmas.

The Christmas season begins on Christmas Day and continues for 12 days to January 5th. The Christmas season officially ends on the eve of January 5th, which is also known at Twelfth Night. Traditionally, huge parties were held on that night.

January 6th is the feast of Epiphany. In the West, Epiphany is traditionally celebrated as the time the three Wise Men or Magi arrived to present gifts to the baby Jesus. In some cultures, January 6th is observed as Three Kings Day, or the Day of the Kings. In some places, December 25th is celebrated as Christmas, but January 6th is the day when gifts are given. In other cultures, it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The song

The popular song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is usually seen as simply a nonsense song. Some have suggested, however, that it is a song of instruction dating to the 16th century religious wars in England, with hidden references to the basic teachings of Christianity. The "true love" mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God Himself. Each of the "days" represents some aspect of the Christian Faith...the partridge is Jesus Christ, the two turtle doves are the Old and New Testament, the three french hens are the virtues faith, hope and love, etcetera.

There is no substantive evidence as to the historical accuracy of this legend, but historical accuracy or not, why not see the song as a celebration of spiritual gifts rather than material ones?

Traditions

There are many traditions associated with the Twelve Days of Christmas, but few of them are hard and fast. The basic idea is to take some time off from "ordinary life" and appreciate that which sustains your life for the rest of the year.

Here are some of the traditional associations with the twelve days of Christmas.

NOTE: The season before the Twelve Days of Christmas is Advent, which means "coming into being." It is a period of preparation and fasting. Preparations were traditionally made behind the scenes. Often decorations were not revealed until Christmas Eve, when a big supper was given after midnight and the decorated house was presented in all its glory.

The first day of Christmas--25 December

This is a spiritual day. A time for quiet, going to church, going within. A day for being with loved ones, and sharing love together.

The second day of Christmas--26 December

In Britain this is known as Boxing Day, after the tradition of giving a Christmas Box to servants of this day. Various traditions for this day revolve around honoring animals.

The third day of Christmas--27 December

One tradition of this day is the blessing of the wine. The blessed wine is considered very lucky and believed to have healing properties. This day has also been associated with mothers--both human mothers and Mother Nature as a bringer of fertility and abundance.

The fourth day of Christmas--28 December

This day has long been associated with children.

The fifth day of Christmas--29 December

This day is known as the Feast of Fools, when the normal order of things was ceremonially reversed. It's a day for silliness.

The sixth day of Christmas--30 December

In many areas, the midwinter days are too dark and cold for outdoor activity. With no electricity or television, in times past people spent a lot of time sitting by the fire, often telling fantastic and magical stories that came to be known as Winter's Tales. This is the day for Winter's Tales--reading them aloud and acting them out as plays.

The seventh day of Christmas--31 December

This is traditionally the day for preparing for the new year. Unfinished business is completed so a fresh start can be made.

In Scotland, an ancient ceremony called First Footing is still performed. It is a ritual break between the ending cycle of the old year and the beginning cycle of the new. A few minutes before midnight, all the candles in the house are extinguished. Someone in the household goes outside with a lit candle. At the stroke of midnight, he knocks on the door. The door is opened and the candblebearer is welcomed with a ceremonial greeting such as:

Welcome the light of the New Year
And welcome him/her that brings it here!

The candlebearer also brings a household gift of sustenance--such as a piece of coal for heat or a loaf of bread--to ensure that more gifts will come into the home in the coming year.

Traditionally, eggnog is served on this night, perhaps because of the ancient association of newness and birth with eggs.

The eighth day of Christmas--1 January--New Year's Day

This is the day of looking forward to good things to come. In Scotland, it is customary that nothing be taken out of the house on this day--not even garbage--to ensure that the good fortune brought by the First Footer does not leave the home.

This is also the day for wassailing, a ritual of pouring apple cider on the roots of apple trees, with a ceremonial verse intending for the apple trees to have a good harvest.

The ninth day of Christmas--2 January

The 2nd of January is the Feast of St. Macarius, patron of confectioners and chefs. Pastries and candies are celebrated on this day.

The tenth day of Christmas--3 January

No traditional associations.

The eleventh day of Christmas--4 January

No traditional associations

The twelfth day of Christmas--5 January

This is the last day of the Christmas season--a day for partying. Since Christmas was a spiritual day, Twelfth Night was the festive celebration of the season. It was a night of feasts, masquerade balls and good natured practical jokes.

Twelfth Night dinners ended with a huge cake filled with spices and fruits. In earlier times, spices were precious and fruits expensive, so they were used to symbolize the gifts brought by the Three Kings to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Epiphany

This is when the Magi arrived at Bethlehem revealing that Messiah had been born.

After the Twelfth Night parties, Christmas decorations were taken down and the household put back into its usual order for the coming year.

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