Twelfth Night

The evening before Twelfth-day, formerly observed as a time of merry-making.¹

Twelfth Night is usually celebrated in the evening and night of 5 January, based on an old custom of observing sunset as the start of a new day. It’s the traditional time to take down the Christmas decorations, as there is a belief or superstition that leaving decorations up for longer will bring bad luck on the home. During the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, fruit and other edible treats were popular Christmas decorations because of their scarcity. They were taken down on Twelfth Night and eaten for the feast of the Epiphany on 6 January.

Origins

The origins and tradition of a ‘twelfth night’ go back centuries. Like many festivals, Twelfth Night is the result of the intertwining of ancient customs and religious festivals. In Christianity, the Epiphany on 6 January broadly commemorates the appearance of Christ on Earth. This day, the day after Twelfth Night, is traditionally celebrated by a feast. It’s also celebrated by carnivals in many Catholic countries, and begins the lead-up to Mardi Gras.

Many pagan festivals began on the northern winter solstice (December 21), with the subsequent 12 days and nights symbolising the 12 zodiac signs of the year and culminating on the twelfth night (New Year’s Day). In 16^th century England, the Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival of mayhem and misrule which began on All Hallows Eve, now Halloween. Similar festivities go as far back as the pre-Christian period in Europe. These festivals included the Roman festival Saturnalia, a time of general unrestrained merrymaking, extending even to the slaves² and Samhain, which was celebrated by the Celts as the beginning of winter.

Traditional food and drink

Food and drink have long been a focal point of Twelfth Night celebrations. In the United Kingdom, a punch called Wassail (from the Old English for ‘good health’) is traditionally drunk around Twelfth Night. Originally wassailing was a celebration of the goddess Pomona and was done to bless the apple orchards. The drink inspired a Christmas carol, Here we come a wassailing, which actually celebrates the new year and also the custom of drinking a ‘toast’ to someone, believed to come from the pieces of toast added to wassail for extra flavour. Those who ended up with toast in their cup were considered the lucky ones.

Many cultures create special foods to celebrate Twelfth Night and Epiphany. France has its Galette des Rois, while Spain bakes crown-shaped citrus Epiphany bread. The British yule log cake, now often a chocolate-covered sponge cake, comes from the custom of lighting a yule log on Christmas Day which was kept alight until Twelfth Night to bring good luck in the year ahead. Mexicans create piñatas full of lollies, while the Dutch and Germans maintain their tradition of baking a coin into a cake for the finder to be declared ‘king of the feast’. This tradition later spread to the rest of Europe.

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• Juul, Feast of, Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2010. Credo Reference.
• Twelfth Night,  A Dictionary of English Folklore. Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud. Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Wassailing, A Dictionary of English Folklore. Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Sources

1. 1. Twelfth Night in the Oxford English Dictionary, Use at a library or enter your library card & password / PIN.
2. 2. Saturnalia in the Oxford English Dictionary, Use at a library or enter your library card & password / PIN.