How to Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas: The History, Symbolism, and Traditions of Christmas
In today’s culture, the Christmas season starts earlier and earlier as consumerism overshadows its true meaning. Most people start celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving, and after December 25, the music stops, the lights come down, and they move on. Traditionally, however, the Christmas season starts on Christmas Day and lasts 12 days. The four weeks prior to December 25 is the season of Advent, which is a time when we prepare for the incarnation of Jesus at His birth and look forward to His second coming at the end times. (Learn more about Advent traditions here and check out my Advent calendar here!)
The 12 Days of Christmas (or Christmastide), therefore, refers to the time between Christmas Day (December 25) and Epiphany (January 6), with Day 1 on December 25 and Day 12 on January 5. Christmas is not just a one-day affair; it is a 12-day season where we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ! January 6 then starts the season of Epiphany, where the church celebrates the various epiphanies of Jesus and His life—from the visit of the Magi, to His baptism, to His transfiguration—which takes us up to the start of Lent.
The History and Symbolism of Christmas
The celebration of Christmastide dates back to the 4th century. (There are many origin myths and legends about how Christmas came to be and why it’s on December 25. I’m not going to get into that here but rather will be focusing on how it was historically celebrated. I highly recommend visiting WhyChristmas.com for more information on this topic.) Celebrations would last 12 days starting on Christmas Day and culminating in a Twelfth Night celebration on January 5.
Historical Christmas traditions reveal some profound truths about Christ and His coming that we can redeem and bring into our observances today. These truths include the ideas of the natural and supernatural world colliding as well as the idea of social inversion. I don’t have the space in this post to delve into these topics, but I go in-depth on the significance of these ideas in my 12 Days of Christmas Celebration Kit, so if you’d like to learn more, I’d recommend checking that out! (I also have a digital download option!)
The 12 Days of Christmas
Several prominent feast and saint days fall during Christmastide. The specific dates of some of these vary depending on your tradition within Christianity, but here are a few that are most accepted across a wide range of Christian denominations:
Feast of St. Stephen (December 26)
Dating back to the 5th century, the Feast of St. Stephen is celebrated on December 26 and honors Stephen of Acts 17, who was a deacon of the church and became the first Christian martyr. Stephen reminds us of Christ’s sacrificial love for us and spurs us on to serve others. The popular Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslas,” was written in the 19th century for the Feast of St. Stephen.
Feast of St. John the Apostle (December 27)
The Feast of St. John the Apostle is on December 27 and started in the 4th century in effort to give all the apostles and early martyrs their own feast days. One tradition associated with this day is the blessing of wine. It is said that St. John once drank poison and lived, and that people started bringing their wines into church to be blessed to commemorate this legend.
Feast of the Holy Innocents (December 28)
First celebrated in the early 6th century, the Feast of the Holy Innocents is on December 28 and honors the massacre ordered by King Herod to kill all the boys 2 and younger in Bethlehem shortly after Jesus was born.
Feast of the Holy Name & Circumcision (January 1)
The 8th day of Christmas recognizes Christ’s circumcision in accordance with Jewish law and also celebrates His naming. According to Jewish law, all boys were to be circumcised and presented at the temple on the 8th day after their birth. The significance of Jesus’ circumcision is that it shows His humanity, being “born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children” (Galatians 4:4-5). This 8th day was also the day Israelite children officially received their names. Jesus was also given the name Immanuel, or “God with us,” a beautiful and radical picture of His incarnation.
Twelfth Night (January 5)
The celebration of the Twelfth Night, or Epiphany Eve, dates back to the early middle ages (around the 10th century). The practice of social inversion was very important to these celebrations, where people would play roles opposite themselves, such as peasants becoming like nobles. Twelfth Night parties were full of games, songs (including the 12 Days of Christmas song!), and food. Traditionally, a “King’s Cake” would be served, which would have either a bean, a coin, a plastic baby figurine, or representations of the gifts of the Magi hidden inside. Whoever found the object first became the Lord or Lady of Misrule, or the Epiphany King or Queen. Traditional privileges varied and included the license to command others, give gifts to others, or wear a crown and costume.
Celebrating Christmastide Today
To begin celebrating the season of Christmastide, I would encourage you to start by making your celebration distinct from Advent. What makes Christmas different from Advent? For one, Advent is a season of anticipation looking forward to Christ’s coming incarnation. This period of waiting is much like the one we are actively in as we wait for His second coming (which is also an aspect that is celebrated in Advent). In contrast, Christmas celebrates the fact that Christ has come in the flesh as the Savior of the world – God became flesh and dwells among us.
In our celebrations, one way to keep Advent and Christmas distinct is by learning about which songs or carols are actually Advent carols and which are Christmas carols. In today’s culture, these are blurred together and sung all season long. When you focus on the lyrics, however, it’s very apparent that Advent carols focus on anticipation and Christmas carols focus on Jesus having come.
Other ways to differentiate between Advent and Christmas include saving a special decoration until Christmas Eve (such as lights, a wreath, or your tree topper), waiting to add Jesus to your nativity until Christmas Day, and using an Advent Wreath and lighting the center Christ Candle during Christmastide.
My 12 Days of Christmas Celebration Kit goes into even more detail with the history and traditions of Christmas, and even gives you a tangible way to celebrate each day!
The 12 Days of Christmas Celebration Kit include 12 cards, string, mini clothespins, and an informational guidebook. The cards are meant to be displayed in your home during the 12 Days of Christmas. Hang all 12 cards on the string, and then, as the day arrives, flip the card over to reveal the back side, which features a daily Scripture reading to reflect on. As the cards are flipped each day, the display will also act as a tracker for how far along you are in the 12 Days.
The daily Scripture readings were picked in an effort to relate to traditional feast days while keeping the narrative of Christmas as the main focus. Each day, I encourage you to consider one way to celebrate Christmas – whether that is through worship, gatherings, service, or rest. I’ve included specific celebration ideas for each of the 12 Days of Christmas, and you are welcome to follow them verbatim or to substitute them with your own celebrations!
