The Twelve Days of Christmas

Sometimes progress doesn't actually improve things. Sure, it's handy to have a mobile phone, but remember how much easier it used to be to arrange to meet somebody? And how much more time you spent talking in person with your friends and family? Well, the same goes for Christmas…

You see, back in the middle ages, Christmas celebrations used to go on for no less than twelve days. That's right, twelve whole days. You would have Christmas Eve, and then counting from Christmas Day's night onwards to the 6th of January, people would just make merry, be jolly and celebrate the birth of the son of God. Well, mostly they would just have a big old party.

Since there were still quite a few pagan traditions lingering in those days, it was a pretty wild party, too: people were allowed to be a whole different person for twelve days. Men could dress up as women, women felt free to glue on a moustache and go on the prowl, servants could boss their - hum - bosses around… It was a non stop fun-athon. Now who would say no to twelve days of straight partying?

The Catholics Did

Things all quietened down a bit when religion became serious business again (the Reformation and Counter-Reformation probably had something to do with that). Christmas celebrations were brought back to two days (Christmas Eve and Christmas day); though in later times many countries chose to add the day after Christmas day (frequently referred to as Boxing Day or Saint Stephen's day) as an extra public holiday.

And the sixth of January is still cause for celebration in many Catholic countries, too. The day goes by many names: Epiphany, Little Christmas, Three Kings Day… It is a day for singing, and kids generally love it. Incidentally, there is a hugely famous Christmas carol also named 'Twelve Days of Christmas'.

Why?

The reason why the Twelve Days of Christmas were celebrated in the first place is actually quite intriguing: there seems to be a difference of opinion between Eastern and Western "branches" of the Catholic Church as to when Jesus was born exactly. According to the Western division it was on Christmas Day, but their Eastern counterparts still firmly adhere to the belief that it was actually on the 6th of January. It remains unclear who is actually right, but it was good enough reason for the people in the middle ages to celebrate both - and every day in between.

Finally, it is worth noting that though we might find a twelve day-long celebration of Christmas a little extreme, there are many countries in the world where the feasting goes on even longer. In some Latin American countries the celebration is stretched out for no less than forty days, only ending in the festival of Candlemass (February 2nd).