Christmas is behind us but the Christmas Season doesn’t have to end there. I remember as a kid we always kept our tree up after the New year. I  think it was about a week. I always thought it was to get plenty of enjoyment out of the tree. It goes up the day after Thanksgiving and comes down the week after New Year. But it turns out there is a reason for leaving the tree up until January 6th. The 12 days of Christmas aren’t the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day, but the 12 days between December 25 and January 6!

This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is always on Epiphany Eve (5 January), but the Twelfth Night can either precede or follow the Twelfth Day according to which Christian tradition is followed.

England’s Boxing Day falls in this period as does Childermas or the Feast of the Innocents.

Currently, the twelve days and nights are celebrated in widely varying ways around the world. Some give gifts only on Christmas Day, some only on Twelfth Night, and some each of the twelve nights.

The custom of the 12 days is largely forgotten or ignored in the United States which is probably why I was unaware until I looked it up! After all the Saints and Feasts that are celebrated in the various branches of Christianity are done, what I got out of my research is that the 12 days are the time between the birth of Jesus and his baptism.

So if you plan to give your sweetheart the gifts from the Song, The 12 Days of Christmas, it’s not too late. But you’ll have to hurry …     On the first day of Christmas my truelove gave to me a Partridge in a pear tree…