In 567, the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season. For the Eastern Orthodox, both Christmas and Epiphany are among the Twelve Great Feasts that are only second to Easter in importance. The Twelve Days, using the Gregorian calendar, end at sunset on 18 January.
About Twelve Days of Christmas in brief
The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In 567, the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season. For the Eastern Orthodox, both Christmas and Epiphany are among the Twelve Great Feasts that are only second to Easter in importance. The Twelve Days, using the Gregorian calendar, end at sunset on 18 January. In some parts of Ireland, it is also the secular holiday of Boxing Day. On this articles on Christmas and Christmas traditions, a day in the Western Church’s tradition is 26 December, a feast in the Catholic Church’s traditions is 31 December, and New Year’s Eve on 31 December is the feast of St Sylvester. In Great Britain and its former colonies, it’s also the feast day of the former colony of Great Britain, its former Great colonies, and the Feast of St. Stephen. Within the Twelve days, there are both secular and religious celebrations. The day before Christmas is considered to be the liturgical feast of the Lord’s Day, and is celebrated by Christians as the day preceding the Twelve Days. On the day after Christmas, there is a day of strict fasting, on which the devout will not eat anything until the first star is seen at night.
This day is known as Paramony, and follows the same general outline as Christmas Eve. On 2 January begins the Forefeast of the Theophany. On 5 January is the celebration of the All-Night Vigil, and that night is served for the Feast the Thephany, which commemorates the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January. The Saturday following the Nativities is commemorated by special readings from the Epistle and Gospel during the Divine Liturgy. The Sunday after the Natativity has its own liturgical commemoration in honour of the Righteous Ones: Joseph the Betrothed, David the King and James the Brother of theLord. The period between Christmas and the Epiphany is fast-free, and during this period one celebration leads into another. It is a public holiday in many nations, including some areas where the majority of the population is not Christian. In the Roman Catholic Church, Christmastide lasts longer than the Twelvedays of Christmas. The Julian calendar uses 25 December and 6 January using the Julian calendar, which correspond to 7 January and 19 January using Gregorian Calendar. The Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern. Orthodox, and Eastern Catholics who follow the same traditions have a twelve-day interval between the two feasts.
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This page is based on the article Twelve Days of Christmas published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 25, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
