Twelve days of Christmas
The twelve Christmas days , also: the twelfth , span the period from Christmas day ( December 25th ) to the morning of January 6th ( epiphany ) in the Christian calendar and were often associated with customs and legends in rural areas.
Origins
The origins are probably in the conversion of earlier lunar calendar systems into the solar year , as they were widespread throughout the Mediterranean (see Rauhnächte for calendar details). The twelve days of Christmas in a row are rooted in the whole of Christianity and its cultures. Over the centuries the myths, traditions, time frames and interpretations have changed.
The twelve days of Christmas are currently being celebrated around the world in different ways. Some give gifts only on Christmas Eve , some only on the twelfth night (the one on January 6th) and some even on each of the twelve nights.
The holidays through the ages
In the middle ages
In the Middle Ages , this time was a time of celebration and amusement that increased until the twelfth night, the traditional end of the Christmas season.
During this period, pagan traditions had often been mixed up with the religious roots of the festival (as was the case with all seasonal feasts and holidays). The traditional roles were relaxed, gentlemen served their servants, men were allowed to dress like women, and vice versa. Often a so-called Lord of Disorder was chosen to lead the celebrations. Some of these traditions were derived from older pagan customs, such as the Roman Saturnalia . Some also show their traces in today's pantomime representations, in which authority is traditionally made a mockery, the leading actor is played by a woman and the elderly lady by a man.
In the American colonies
The original American colonists took their version of the Christmas days from England and adapted it to their new country by developing their own variations over the years. For example, it is believed that today's Christmas wreath had its origins in these times. They made the wreath from leaves and fruits themselves. The craft itself was one of the traditions of Christmas Eve, according to which the finished wreaths were attached to the front door, starting on Christmas night and ending on the twelfth night or the morning of Epiphany. This was already a tradition in England, and as there, all decorations were taken down again on the morning of January 6th, and what was still edible was consumed. The custom of baking the Epiphany cake on January 6th also dates from this time .
In the United States
With the advancement of Americanized and secular traditions over the past two centuries (such as Santa Claus , the popularity of the Christmas holidays, or the increasing popularity of New Year's parties), the twelve days of Christmas have largely been forgotten in the States. However, some of the denominations hold on to this way of celebrating, including the Roman Catholic Church , the Orthodox Churches , the Amish and the Mennonites .
Today some of the celebrants give each other a gift on each of the twelve days, and otherwise celebrate all the time until Epiphany. In the United States, lighting a candle every day has become a modern tradition during this period. This also includes singing appropriate verses from the famous song The Twelve Days of Christmas .
Some groups still celebrate the twelfth night as the most important in terms of festivities and gift giving. Some also light a so-called Yule Log ("Christmas tree trunk") on a fireplace on the first Christmas night and let it burn a little on each of the twelve nights. Some Americans also prepare a traditional meal that is served every night.
As in the old days, the time between the twelfth night and the following morning is considered the right time to remove the Christmas tree and decorations.
In the United Kingdom
Many in the UK celebrate various aspects of the Christmas Twelve, albeit in a more modern way. In the whole of the United Kingdom, as in many other countries that are former British crown colonies (e.g. Canada , Australia ), Boxing Day on December 26th is considered a national holiday, since it is the first full day of Christmas time like it the old traditions dictated.
England, the country of origin of many popular Christmas carols, cherishes the tradition of Christmas singing. The stories of the Victorian era (especially those of Charles Dickens such as A Christmas Carol ) contain important key elements of the celebrations that have survived to this day; some of them include traditional foods such as Christmas pudding , roast duck and wassail (a fruit punch). Usually these foods are eaten at the beginning of Christmas in the kingdom, but elsewhere, following the original custom, people eat and dance all the time, until the twelfth night.
The name of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night or What You Will derives from the Elizabethan custom of celebrating a big festival and performing a play on the last evening of Christmas Day.
Russia
In the Russian Orthodox Church these twelve days (Russian Святки / Swjatki) fall between Orthodox Christmas (January 7th) and the feast of the baptism of the Lord (January 19th).
In other countries
In almost all countries with Catholic Christians there are customs that concern the celebrations around the twelve days of Christmas. In Latin American countries, a tortell is baked, a traditional cake that originally comes from Catalonia . The recipe differs from the Epiphany Cake in a few ways, but the meaning is the same.
In Latin America, the end of the twelve days marks the beginning of a new religious time, which has been combined with non-church and pagan celebrations over time: the time of Carnaval or Carnival is meant , which in turn ends with Mardi Gras day.
See also
literature
- Mary Caulkins, Jennie Miller Jelderman: Christmas Trivia . Crane Hill, Birmingham 1998, ISBN 1-57587-094-0 .
- Gerry Bowler: The World Encyclopedia of Christmas . McClelland & Stewart, Toronto 2000, ISBN 0-7710-1531-3 .
- Jennie Helderman; Mary Caulkins: Christmas trivia. 200 fun & fascinating facts about Christmas . Gramercy Books, New York 2002, ISBN 0-517-22070-9 .
- Martin Marix-Evans: The Twelve Days of Christmas . Peter Pauper, White Plains 2002, ISBN 0-88088-776-1 .
- Ace Collins, Clint Hansen: Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas . Zondervan, Grand Rapids 2003, ISBN 0-310-24880-9 .
- Robin Headlam Wells: Shakespeare's Humanism . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 0-521-82438-9 .
Web links
- The Twelve Days of Christmas on crivoice.org