When are the 12 Days of Christmas?

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When are the 12 days of Christmas and what do they celebrate?

When are the 12 days of Christmas and why? They aren’t when you probably think or celebrate. In fact these traditional celebration days begin on Christmas Day rather than end on it!

Updated December 2023

When are the 12 days of Christmas?

The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and finish 12 days later on the day before Epiphany, which falls on the 6th of January.

Why are these the 12 days of Christmas?

These days have been the date of many celebrations over the years from Pagan to Christian. These 12 days were proclaimed as a sacred and festive season by the Roman council of Tours in 567AD.

In Christianity these 12 days of feasting are proceeded by the fasting period of Advent.

Who does each day celebrate?

Day 1 (25th December). Christmas Day, which celebrates the Birth of Jesus

Day 2 (26th December also known as Boxing Day). St Stephen’s Day (the first Christian martyr). The Christmas Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’ is set today!

Day 3 (27th December). St John the Apostle (One of Jesus’s Disciples and friends)

Day 4 (28th December). The Feast of the Holy Innocents (a day to remember the baby boys killed by King Herod when looking to find Baby Jesus.)

Day 5 (29th December). St Thomas Becket. (The Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered on the 29th December 1170 for challenging the King’s authority over the Church.)

Day 6 (30th December): St Egwin of Worcester.

Half way through!

Day 7 (31st December). New Year’s Eve (known as Hogmanay in Scotland or Silvester in many European countries celebrating Pope Sylvester I, one of the earliest popes in the 4th Century). In Middle Ages in the UK, New Year’s Eve was a traditional day for ‘games’ and sporting competitions. The King made it law that all men aged between 17 and 60 practised archery after Church on Sundays. This was so that they were ready for battle. New Year’s Eve was a chance to check who had been practising!

Day 8 (1st January). 1st January – Mary (the Mother of Jesus)

Day 9 (2nd January). St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen (two important 4th century Christians.)

Day 10 (3rd January). Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. (Celebrating the naming of Jesus)

Day 11 (4th January). St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (the first American saint who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries)

Day 12 (5th January also known as Epiphany Eve). St. John Neumann (the first Bishop in America and only male American saint). It’s also the Saint’s day of St Simeon Stylites the Elder (who lived on a small platform on the top of a pillar for 37 years!)

Day 13 (6th of January or Epiphany). This is the day the Magi (or the wise men) arrived to meet Jesus. This day is traditionally celebrated with a large feast and the burning of yule log. Or in modern times the eating of a yule log!

What about the song-The Twelve days of Christmas?

According to the modern version of the song your true love gives you a gift every day of the 12 days of Christmas. This starts with a partridge in a pear tree-but no you don’t get 12 partridges just the one!

There are lots of previous versions where it was other people, such as the singer’s mother, giving the gifts and other gifts, including a theory they are all actually birds. However we now all roughly know and agree on one version.

There are also theories about whether it its a way of teaching the Catholic values or whether it is a memory game. Good Housekeeping delves deeper into these theories if you fancy a longer read!

What do you get on each day?

• Day 1 Partridge in a pear tree
• Day 2 Two turtle doves
• Day 3 Three French hens
• Day 4 Four calling (or colly) birds
• Day 5 Five Goooold rings (sorry couldn’t resist!)
• Day 6 Six geese-a-laying
• Day 7 Seven swans-a-swimming
• Day 8 Eight Maids-a-milking
• Day 9 Nine ladies dancing
• Day 10 Ten lords-a-leaping
• Day 11 Eleven pipers pipping
• Day 12 Twelve drummers drumming

What happens after the 12 days of Christmas?

After the twelve days of Christmas comes Epiphany, a traditional feasting day in the UK, marking the arrival of the Magi and (unrelatedly) the burning of a yule log…and most sadly, the removal of Christmas decorations-boo!

So when do Christmas decorations have to come down?

According to superstition, for good luck in the New Year Christmas decorations must come down before midnight on the 6th of January. Otherwise you will have bad luck or have to wait till Easter to take them down!

What’s your favourite way to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas?