12 Days Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a celebration of hope, happiness and festive fervor. The families enjoy cleaning and decorating their homes with Christmas bells, Christmas lights and wreaths. A fresh-smelling, evergreen Christmas tree is adored with ornaments and lights to deck up the entire atmosphere. There are feasts, parties and family reunions organized in many families. The joy of meeting each other and celebrating the festival together is great. The holiday season begins on Christmas Eve i.e. December 24 and ends on January 6 i.e. Feast of Epiphany. All these twelve nights are celebrated according to traditional customs. There are various traditions associated with twelve night's celebration during Christmas.

This period of twelve days is also known as Christmastide. The celebration end on twelfth night i.e. on January 5 followed by the feast of Epiphany on January 6. These celebrations are different in various sects of Christianity and churches that one follows. In some cultures the first day of Epiphany overlaps the twelfth day of Christmas. The traditions of the twelve days of Christmas too have undergone change with the changing times. Boxing Day is the first day after Christmas. It falls on December 26. It is called as Boxing Day because gift boxes are given to workers on that day. It is a tradition that is followed for years together.

The tradition of giving gift also differs. Some people give gifts on Christmas day while some gift on Twelfth night. There are some families where gifts are exchanged on any of the twelve days. The feast of Epiphany is celebrated with great food and parties all round the world. The twelve day period is all about celebration, worshipping lord, giving gifts, charity, meeting friends and extended family. During this period, special prayers, sermons are organized in the church and people attend the services in huge numbers. Reading of Old Testament and New Testament is considered holy in these twelve nights.

The feasts, parties and merry making comes to an end on the twelfth night. There is a tradition of taking off all the decorations from the home as well as Christmas tree on the twelve nights. This is symbolic and sends the signal that the holiday season has ended. There is a tradition to bake a special cake to mark the end of celebrations. Dancing and dining all the twelve nights is a tradition found in many European countries. Traditionally food like roasted goose, plum pudding, and so on is served during this festive period of twelve days.

Lighting candles, singing carols, listening to Christmas music are the other traditions that are observed during this period of twelve days. The Birth of Jesus to his Baptism at the river Jordan is this period of twelve days. Therefore, these days are considered to be holy and have religious significance.