We’re well into 2024 now and the Christmas festivities are wrapped up and done with for another year.
Or at least they are for those who don’t follow Christianity. However, for those that do, the 12 days of Christmas are still very much in full swing.
The festive period won’t officially come to an end for a few more days, with Twelfth Night and Epiphany still to go.
For some, Twelfth Night will simply be the day that they take down their festive decorations and pack away the tree for another year.
But for others, it’s a much bigger deal.
When is Twelfth Night?
The 12 days of Christmas began on December 25, so Christmas Day.
Twelfth Night occurs on the twelfth and final night of the 12 days of Christmas – which is today, January 5.
Epiphany takes place the day after on January 6, while Candlemas – a traditional festival to mark to so-called ‘purification’ of the Virgin Mary after childbirth – isn’t until February 2.
What is Twelfth Night?
Twelfth Night is a Christian celebration that dates back to medieval times and marks the 12th night after Christmas and the coming of Epiphany.
A number of traditions take place on the last night of the 12 days of Christmas and it is sometimes referred to as Epiphany Eve, as it is followed by Epiphany.
Epiphany marks the day that the Three Wise Men, or the Magi, visited the baby Jesus and it is considered by those who follow Christianity to be the end of the Christmas season.
Twelfth Night traditions revolve around food and drink as many across the worldwill enjoy a Twelfth Night Feast. This celebration often includes a punch known as wassail and a bake called a King Cake.
In years gone by, this cake would have had a bean baked into it, and whoever found the bean in their slice would get to be ‘king for a day’.
According to English Heritage, the cake ‘was leavened with yeast, rather like a fruit-laden brioche’ and from the late 18th-century onwards would be ‘elaborately decorated’ with sugar and almond pastes.
In modern day, this tradition has gradually been replaced by many with the Christmas cake, or a Christmas pudding.
Other Twelfth Night traditions include singing carols, and writing a message above your front door in chalk to bless your home. The message this year will read: ‘20 = C = M + B 24’.
The letters in the message are the initials of the three wise men (Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar). But they are also said to be an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase, ‘Christus mansionem benedictat’, which means ‘May Christ bless the house’.
The numbers in the message mark the year, 2024, while the + symbols are intended to represent the cross.
The most common tradition of all, however, is the belief that it’s bad luck to leave your Christmas decorations up after Twelfth Night, so many will take them down on this day.
However, not everyone believes this as some people choose to leave their decorations up until Candlemas.
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