On the first day of Christmas....
Ever wonder what the first day of Christmas was? When I was young, I used to think the 12 days of Christmas were like a countdown to Christmas Day, with Christmas Eve being the first day of Christmas (to me, Christmas Day didn't count because it was Christmas itself).
As a student of Church history, however, I discovered that the song "12 Days of Christmas" didn't refer to before the holiday but after. Christmas Day was the first day of Christmas and the days ran to January 6th. Turns out that January 6th is a holiday that many Protestant churches have tossed out: the Feast of Epiphany. It celebrates the arrival of the magi at Bethlehem. In the ancient church, that period between the two Christmas holidays was a period of celebration, forever memorialized as "The 12 Days of Christmas." Interesting, huh?
There are many holidays of the Old Church that are fun and festive but I find that a lot of Protestant folks are hesitant to observe them. Epiphany is one of those days. Ironically, before Christmas was celebrated on December 25th, it was celebrated on January 6th. Why? Well, no one knows exactly when Jesus was born so setting a date was difficult for early Church leaders. Easter was certain because it came during the Jewish Passover, which was set by the spring moon cycle. But Christmas was more of a mystery. So eventually, I think it was in the 3rd or 4th Century, a date was set to remember the nativity events. Our modern Christmas date comes from an attempt to seize control of a pagan winter solstice holiday and claim it for Christ.
Another great holiday of old was the Feast of St. Stephen, which fell the day after Christmas, Dec. 26th. In jolly old England, it was a day for benevolence. The wealthy would take their leftovers (food and clothing) and give them to the poor. In the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas," the events the song describes fell on this day, when a rich king decided to bless a cold, poor man. In England today it's called "Boxing Day" because the rich would box up their goodies for donation.
Another great Christmas holiday is the Feast of St. Nicholas, which falls every year on December 6th (the day he died). In the decades after the death of the real St. Nick in the 300s, people began spreading a tradition of giving gifts to the poor on the death day of St. Nicholas. So in the the middle ages, our modern Christmas traditions were split between two or three dates: gift giving on Dec. 6th, the nativity on Dec. 25th and the wise men on Jan. 6th. A month of Christmas!
I love to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, keeping my Christmas decorations up through January 6th. (I've become more of an orthodox fellow the older I've grown, so this shouldn't be too surprising) My neighbors take their stuff down soon after Christmas (even my church) but I want to keep Christmas on the brain longer just like the saints of old. So if you drive by my house in the next 12 days, know that my Christmas lights will be on and stockings will be hung by my chimney with care.
Christmas is just beginning, after all!
Merry Christmas!
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