Twelfth night traditions.
There is some debate here as to whether it was 12th night yesterday or if it is today (6th January - Epiphany). Whichever it is, it is the time to take down all decorations or bad luck will befall the household.
In the UK, people used to have parties on Twelfth Night and it was traditional to play practical jokes on your friends and neighbours. These included tricks such as hiding live birds in an empty pie case, so that they flew away when your startled guests cut open the crusts (as in the nursery rhyme "Sing A Song of Sixpence" goes, "…the pie was opened and the birds began to sing".
Twelfth Night Cake
The Twelfth Night cake was a rich and dense fruitcake which traditionally contained a bean. If you got the bean then you were King or Queen of the Bean and everyone had to do what you told them to do.
There were also other items hidden in the cake:
If you got a clove you were a villain.
If you got a twig you were a fool.
If you got a rag you were a tarty girl.
Turkish NightTwelfth Night Plays
Twelfth Night itself was a traditional day for plays or "mumming" and it is thought that Shakespeare's play, Twelfth night, took its name from the fact that it was first performed as part of Twelfth Night celebrations about 1601.
Near where I live, there will be a crazy sort of football match (The Haxey Hood) between two villages. It has been taking place on 6th January since 14th Century and is a big event now and can take hours to complete.
In our area, the mummers plalys are traditionally held on Plough Monday (the Monday after Epiphany) although we will be seeing our nearest one on Saturday. They are great fun, with excuses for men to dress up as women and act the fool in public! They do raise a lot of money for charity though.
140717
My grandmother celebrated orthodox Christmas which is right now. Thank you for making me think about it. I too would enjoy seeing pics of the parties!
173693For Catholics, the Christmas season is not over until the Sunday after Epiphany - this year the 10th (see linked calendar). So our stuff stays up with no bad luck :-).
Some sources say early Christians considered it the Christmas season until Candlemas eve on Feb1st. From Wikipedia:
"Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"
— Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"
As the poem by Robert Herrick records, the eve of Candlemas was the day on which Christmas decorations of greenery were removed from people's homes.
I hate when folks rush the season to be over. We have many around here that don't turn their lights back on after Dec 25th.
2 comments
by maggiecal
06 Jan 2016
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-w... Dang, pasted the link in the first note but forgot 'submit'.
by spendlove
07 Jan 2016
The old festival of Yule, which predated Christmas, lasted pretty much through all of December and January.
4155Hi Sue, as I belong to the Anglican Church of Australia and we are basically linked to the Church of England, we too have a lot of the traditions you talk about. I have never participated in the Twelfth night activities though. They sound so much fun and I love the fruit cake - I'm a bit of a fan of fruit cake.
I too take my Christmas decorations down on 6th January (Epiphany). Hope you are keeping warm. We are having torrential rain here at the moment. Love Chris
234498Thanks Sue i wonder why i never heard of this before???Maybe Canadians don't do it lol
360644Thanks so much for this peek at your traditions and activities of the season. We also do not take down the decorations until the 6th. I was taught it is the end of the gift giving season as this is the day attributed to the 3 kings arriving. mk
1334Thank you were wondering about when the decorations were to come down, now we know we have being doing it right.
11566318460It's a PAR-TY! Please post your pictures. I find them very interesting.
158716This all sounds like loads of fun. That's very interesting about Shakespeare. I have not heard that before, but it does seem most logical. I had the impression that you lived in a small village. But with all of the well-attended, and fun events you have described in many of your posts, it must be a lot bigger than I thought!!! Hope you are enjoying yourself.
1 comment
by spendlove
06 Jan 2016
I live in a tiny hamlet, but there are lots of interesting places within about 20 miles - just no fabric shops!
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