The Twelve

Days of
Christmas: The
Twelve Days of
Christmas refers
to the twelve days
between the
Christmas Day
(December 25)
and the Feast of
Epiphany (Janary
!)" Tradition has it
that this is the
time ta#en by the
Three $ise %en
(the %a&i) to
reach 'ethlehem
to see the babe in
the man&er(
Jess"


Mistletoe is a plant
hn& on the doorway of
every )merican
hosehold drin&
Christmas" The mistletoe
symboli*es love( havin&
been closely associated
with Fri&&a( the
+candinavian,s &oddess
of love" -t,s from this that
the convention of #issin&
nder the mistletoe
ori&inated"


The boughs of holly are
another very important symbol
of Christmas" These are red
berries with thorny leaves" To
the Christians( the holly berries
symboli*e Christ,s blood and
the sharply pointed leaves
stand for the thorns in .is
crown" .enceforth( the holly
became part of the /ativity
tradition"
Poinsettias are beautiful
winter blooms, native to
Mexico. They've been
named after the frst !
ambassador to Mexico,
"oel #oberts Poinsett,
who brought the $lant
from its land of origin to
%merica. !ince the
beginning of the &'th
century, $oinsettias have
come to be
associated with
Christmas.
The practice of hanging
stoc(ings over the
0replace on Christmas Eve
comes from En&land" The
le&end of +t" /icholas has it
that the latter was a #ind
saint who was believed to
have left &ifts of &old coins
in the stoc#in&s of three
poor maidens( who badly
needed the money for their
weddin& dowries" They
hn& their stoc#in&s to dry
over the 0replace( and to
their &reat srprise( they
fond ba&s of &old in them
the ne1t mornin&" Followin&
this( children #ept han&in&
Christmas stoc#in&s over
the 0replace on Christmas
Eve in the hope that +anta
wold drop &ifts and toys in
them2
)ggnog, a very
poplar Christmas
drin#( is prepared
by mi1in& cream(
mil#( s&ar and
beaten e&&s with
some #ind of
li3or" This has a
close connection
to the Christmas
holiday( and on
Christmas Eve( it,s
fairly common to
spot &rops of
people
e&&no&&in& at
their nei&hbors,
and friends,
places" 4eople also
&ather rond the
Christmas tree(
drin#in& e&&no&
and then move
from hose to
hose carolin&"
The frst carols are
said to have been
sn& by an&elic choirs
at Christ,s birth"
+t"Francis of )ssissi is
also accredited as the
,Father of Carolin&,"
The word ,carol,
comes from the 5ree#
,charalein,( a 5ree#
dance( later replaced
by son&" 'y the 67th
centry( carolin& was
restricted to
Christmas time( and
now( it,s cstomary
for #ids to &o carolin&
in &rops from door to
door( sin&in& favorites
sch as 8.ar#( the
.erald )n&els +in&8( 9
Come )ll :e Faithfl8(
5od ;est :e %erry
5entlemen8 and many
more2
*oxing Day: The day
after Christmas is
#nown as the Feast of
+t" +tephen<s" The
alms bo1 of the
Chrch was opened
on 'o1in& Day( and
the contents( #nown
as the 8dole of the
Christmas bo18 were
distribted by the
parish priest amon&
the needy"
.enceforth( the day
after Christmas came
to be #nown as
the
'o1in& Day"
The +ativity !cene incldes
the scene at 'ethlehem( when
Jess was born" The man&er(
the swaddlin& clothes( the
bri&ht star in the s#y( the
shepherds srrondin& baby
Jess and the Three $ise %en
(the %a&i) form part of the
scene"
,-mas. is a common
abbreviation of the word
8Christmas8" -t is sometimes
prononced =#sms=( bt it(
and variants sch as
8>temass8( ori&inated as
handwritin& abbreviations for
the typical pronnciation =
#rsms=" The 8?mas8 part is
from the @atin?derived 9ld
En&lish word for 8%ass8( while
the 8>8 comes from the 5ree#
letter Chi( which is the 0rst
letter of the 5ree# word (
translated as 8Christ8" There is
a common misconception that
the word >mas is a seclar
attempt to remove the reli&ios
tradition from Christmas by
ta#in& the 8Christ8 ot of
8Christmas8"
The yule log is a h&e
lo& sed to li&ht p bi&
0res drin& festive
celebrations" -t
ori&inated in Erope(
where it sed to be
placed in the hearth and
contined to brn
thro&hot the year( till
it trned into ashes"
'rin&in& in the yle lo&
was as mch a cstom
drin& the Christmas
holidays as was
decoratin& the
Christmas tree" The yle
lo& is &enerally placed
in the 0replace" -t,s from
this yle lo& that
Christmas also came to
be #nown as ,:letide,"

Contrary to mch poplar belief AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA don<t refer to a period prior
to Christmas bt to the
days ntil Janary !
th
"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"" is a poplar drin# thro&hot the Bnited +tates and Canada( and is
sally associated
with winter celebrations( it may be added as a Cavorin& to food or drin#s sch as tea and coDee"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"" started in the BE abot FGG years a&o drin& the %iddle )&es" -t
was the day when
the alms bo1( collection bo1es for the poor often #ept in chrches( were traditionally opened so that the
contents cold be distrib
ted to poor people" +ome chrches still open these bo1es on AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
-n /orthern Erope Christmas occrred drin& the middle of winter( when &hosts and demons cold be
heard howlin& in the
winter winds" AAAAAAAAAAAAA""( believed to have ma&ical powers since they remained &reen
thro&h the harsh winter(
were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away" 5reenery was also bro&ht indoors to freshen
the air and bri&hten
the mood drin& the lon&( dreary winter" @e&end also has it that AAAA spran& from the footsteps of Christ
as he wal#ed the
earth" The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the
red berries symboli*ed
the blood he shed"
Traditional AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA incldes Joseph( %other %ary( 'aby Jess in a crib and the
shepherds who visited
alon& with an o1( sheep and the camel" 9thers incldes the three wise men who have travelled far and wide to
visit the new born
baby"
) native %e1ican plant( AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA were named after a B"+" ambassador to %e1ico
who bro&ht the
plant to )merica in 6F2F" AAAAAA""were li#ely sed by %e1ican Franciscans in their 67th centry
Christmas celebrations"
9ne le&end has it that a yon& %e1ican boy( on his way to visit the villa&e /ativity scene( reali*ed he had no
&ift for the
Christ child" .e &athered pretty &reen branches from alon& the road and bro&ht them to the chrch"
Tho&h the other children
moc#ed him( when the leaves were laid at the man&er( a beatifl star?shaped Cower appeared on each
branch" The bri&ht red
petals( often mista#en for Cowers( are actally the pper leaves of the plant"
AAAAAAAAAAA""AAAA"" was sed by Drid priests 2GG years before the birth of Christ in their
winter celebrations" They
revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained &reen drin& the cold months of winter" The ancient
Celtics believed it had
ma&ical healin& powers and sed it as an antidote for poison( infertility( and to ward oD evil spirits" The
plant was also seen as
a symbol of peace( it is said that amon& ;omans( enemies who met nder AAAAAwold lay down their
weapons and embrace"
+candanavians associated the plant with Fri&&a( their &oddess of love( and it may be from this that we
derive the cstom of
#issin& nder the AAAAAAA""" Those who #issed nder it had the promise of happiness and &ood lc#
in the followin& year"
To all Eropean races( AAAAAAAAAAAA" was believed to brin& bene0cial ma&ic and was #ept
brnin& for at least twelve
hors and sometimes as lon& as twelve days( warmin& both the hose and those who resided within" $hen
the 0re of AAAAA"
The yule log is a h&e
lo& sed to li&ht p bi&
0res drin& festive
celebrations" -t
ori&inated in Erope(
where it sed to be
placed in the hearth and
contined to brn
thro&hot the year( till
it trned into ashes"
'rin&in& in the yle lo&
was as mch a cstom
drin& the Christmas
holidays as was
decoratin& the
Christmas tree" The yle
lo& is &enerally placed
in the 0replace" -t,s from
this yle lo& that
Christmas also came to
be #nown as ,:letide,"
was 0nally 3enched( a small fra&ment of the wood wold be saved and sed to li&ht the ne1t year,s lo&" -t
was also believed that
as lon& as it brned( the hose wold be protected from witchcraft" The ashes that remained from the
sacred AAAAAAAA were
scattered over 0elds to brin& fertility( or cast into wells to prify and sweeten the water" +ometimes( the
ashes were sed in the
creation of varios charms"""to free cattle from vermin( or to ward oD hailstorms"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA commemoratin& the nativity( or birth of Jess Christ( were prportedly
0rst written in @atin
in the Hth and 5th centries( bt they didn,t become associated with Christmas ntil the 6Ith centry" +aint
Francis of )ssisi(
the ;oman Catholic saint of animals and the environment( is often credited with incorporatin& pbeat @atin
hymns into
Christmas services" The ener&etic( Joyfl son&s were sn& in sharp contrast to the somber Christmas msic of
the day"
The ori&in of the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"" is a tale of a #indly +aint /icholas"
/ey: The twelve days of Christmas( e&&no&( 'o1in& Day( the bo&hs of holly(
/ativity
+cene( poinsettia( mistletoe( the :le lo&( Carols( han&in& stoc#in&s