Perhaps it's been going on my entire life, but I first noticed the phenomenon a couple of years ago. Starting on December 13 or 14, depending on how mathematically/calendrically challenged the particular blogger or business is, the countdown to Christmas begins: "On the First Day of Christmas [we put this on sale | I recapped the top stories of January | etc.]."
Except, of course, that December 13 is the Feast of Saint Lucy and December 14 is the Feast of Saint John of the Cross, and neither day is the "First Day of Christmas," because they both fall in Advent.
The First Day of Christmas is . . . Christmas Day. Why is this so hard for people to grasp? No one, in his right mind or out of it, thinks that the First Day of Easter is Ash Wednesday or Palm Sunday or Good Friday. Everyone knows that Easter starts on . . . Easter Sunday.
So why do so many people have such a hard time understanding that the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day and run through the eve of Epiphany? Is it any wonder that we're all ready to take down the Christmas tree on Christmas Day, what with all the partridges, pear trees, golden rings, lords a-leaping, and maids a-milking which we've had foisted on us starting on December 13 or 14?
Here's a novel concept: Let's keep Christ in Christmas, and Advent in Advent. Let's celebrate all 12 days of Christmas—at their proper time. Let's light the Advent wreath now, pray our Saint Andrew Christmas Novena, spend some time with the Prophet Isaiah in our Advent Scripture readings, and genuinely prepare the way for the Lord to come into our souls.
And then, when Christmas comes, we can party like there's no tomorrow. Except there will be one. And another. And yet another.
For twelve whole days.
Now that sounds like a Christmas to remember.
P.S. Next time you see some blog or website refer to the 12 days before Christmas as the Twelve Days of Christmas, leave a comment and include a link to this post. We can win the War on Advent through some well-planned guerrilla action, one blog at a time.
P.P.S. Best wishes for a blessed Advent—and, when the time comes, a very merry Christmas.
(A partridge in a pear tree. Stockbyte/Getty Images)
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I’m with you Scott if you are going to celebrate understand and do it properly. I think I could relate much more to Christmas the way you have outlined it, otherwise it’s just a pagan bash with way too much stress and hype associated. Put the tree up after the kids have gone to bed Christmas eve. Leave it up for 12 days and then take it down perfect.
Thanks, Sukhmandir. I love celebrating Christmas—we open our main presents not on Christmas Day but on Epiphany, and so the entire Twelve Days of Christmas are a time of joy and feasting and reflection the meaning of Christ’s coming.
I just stumbled across this, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I have to raise the question… What’s your source?
I believe, (though I don’t have a definitive source to cite handy) that the “12 days of Christmas” actually refers to the Pagan feast of Yule, which begins on the first day of the new year. The winter solstice was the beginning of the year on the pagan calendar.
KiltedTim, I don’t find your comment “disrespectful,” just amusing. After all, you ask me for a source, yet you make a counterclaim and admit that you don’t have a source to back it up.
Christmas was originally celebrated as a compound feast, along with Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord, on January 6. From the fourth century, when Christmas began to be separated out from the other two feasts and celebrated on December 25, Christians marked the entire period between between December 25 and January 6 with feasting (in contrast to the fasting before Christmas).
In 566 or 567, the Second Council of Tours acknowledged the 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany as an extension of the Christmas feast. Since that time, it has been observed universally throughout the Christian world.
Amen! Thank you for this wonderful article.
This has long been one of my pet peeves! I get so frustrated when people turn their lights on the day after Thanksgiving then turn them off either Christmas night or the night after Christmas.
My family (children) gets frustrated that I insist on waiting until the 3rd or 4th Sunday of Advent to set up our tree. I am trying to teach them the beauty of waiting and the gift of anticipation. the secular society certainly do not help me at all in this endeavor.
I’m a year late to this discussion but I just wanted to say thank you to Scott for opening my eyes to Advent and having Christ in Christmas. I grew up Christian but Apostolic so we never celebrated Christmas or Easter. So now that I’m old enough, I’d like to do it but I don’t know how to keep it about Christ because I was never taught how he fit into the festivities. Those around me who celebrate are slaves to the “sale” and holiday shopping so I haven’t found any help there. So long story short, thank you again. I appreciate you getting the ball rolling for my research into Advent/Christmas.
Scott, thank you for this article, I enjoy all your articles! But I am a little confused… regarding the 12th day falling on the day of the feast of the Epiphany, January 6… Starting count with December 25th, the first day of Christimas, the twelfth day of the count falls on January 5th, am I not getting something right? I will admit I am a Catholic that am still learning our beautiful tradion, please straighten me out (?)
Michelle, I what I wrote may have unintentionally misled you: “the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day and run through the eve [emphasis added] of Epiphany?” The eve of Epiphany is the night before Epiphany, not the night of Epiphany. Now, it’s true that people do refer to Epiphany as “Twelfth Night,” but that reflects the older tradition of marking the beginning of a new day at sundown on the previous day. So even there, the use of “Twelfth Night” to refer to Epiphany is really pointing at the eve of Epiphany.
Hope this helps!
Here’s one talking about “of Christmas” but funny nontheless
http://ccooper.typepad.com/writing_on_the_run/2011/11/a-runners-12-days-of-christmas.html
Scott, Please forgive my ignorance or confusion. I would like to know if the Lord was baptised or presented in the synagogue on the 6th day after His birth, or was He baptised on the sixth day after his birthday by John the Baptist when He was older? Did the Lord have two baptisms?
Thanks for the interesting facts regarding the Twelve Days of Christmas. I always thought it started on the 24th of December. That’s when my dad put the Christmas tree up with our help
Christ was circumcised a week after His birth. He was presented in the temple on the 40th day after His birth, on the day we now call Candlemas (the Presentation of the Lord, February 2.) Christ did not have two baptisms; He was baptized by John the Baptist when He began His public ministry, though no date can be figured from the account in the Gospels.
Originally, Epiphany (January 6) encompassed four different celebrations: the Baptism of the Lord; Christ’s first miracle at the wedding at Cana; the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas); and the visit of the Wise Men. Over time, each of these was separated out into a different feast, with the Baptism of the Lord being celebrated on the octave (eighth day, or one week later) of Epiphany.
Traditionally, Catholics waited until Christmas Eve to put up the Christmas tree, as your dad did. In a sense, you could say that the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Eve, to the extent that Christmas Eve anticipates the celebration of Christmas itself, the First Day of Christmas.
Dear Scott:
Thank you for your words re. the 12 days of Christmas. I think focusing on the liturgical celebration from 12/25 through 1/6 is a very good idea.
Michael
Your Grace
May Christ’s mercy be upon me for confusing the
advent with the twelve days of Christmas.
We are accustomed to thinking so mechanically
that we never seem to notice what we are actually doing.
When the time comes,wish you a Merry Christmas!
This is so true. This year my tree will remain up 12 days starting christmas. Thank you so much for that important information.
Thank you for such important information that I neglected to know about. Praise you Jesus. Merry christmas.
Food for thought: http://www.eliyah.com/paganexp.html