The 12 Most Festive Days of the Year

By Pia Tuominen

Rubens, P. (1629). Adoration of the Magi [Oil on panel]. Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, Spain. 

In modern days, the non-devout only truly celebrate Christmas on Jesus’ well-known birthday of December 25th. However, from the 4th to the 18th century, Christians celebrated the Nativity from December 25th all through to the post-Christmas feast on January 6th, known as Christmastide, or the 12 days of Christmas. The lengthy traditions that continued through to our commercialized holidays still carry meaning to Western cultures, even the former British colony of Hong Kong. Despite it not seeming like it, we are essentially celebrating the same way as the Romans in 625 AD.

The 12 days of Christmas was a period of religious feast days, officially becoming a holiday in 567. Earlier Christmas celebrations mostly entailed ecclesiastical hymns and candlelit vigils.

On the first day of Christmas, December 25th, people took to using new clothes and items, but the most exciting event was the Christmas feast, which featured a cornucopia of familiar dishes. Roasted meat, brussels sprouts, gingerbread, and plum porridge (evolving into Christmas pudding) became prevalent over the years. Mince pies were especially historical, originating as large meat pies made to represent the gifts given to Jesus by the Magi. Over time, the meat content and size of the pies dwindled to the concoction of fruit, spices, and suet we know today.

The entire holiday revolves around the birth of little Jesus, but his birthday is unknown. As Christian historian, Sextus Julius Africanus, calculated Jesus’ possible conception date to be March 25th, adding 9 months that he spent in the uterus to the date results in a December 25th birthday. Another possibility was that the Church borrowed dates from existing celebrations, in order to ease the transition of the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity during emperor Constantine’s rule. Pagan festivals like Sol Invictus, Saturnalia, and Yule, all took place around present-day Christmastime. So, in this case, the Church would have changed the gods worshipped and kept the festivities the same, explaining why numerous Christmastide traditions, including feasting and decorating with winter plants, stemmed from the pagan winter solstice festivals.

December 26th commemorates the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. His effective preaching methods challenged the Jewish, who implicated him in blasphemy. At his trial, he accused the Jews of murdering Jesus, angering the crowd, who stoned him to death. Even while being stoned, he allegedly prayed for his killers’ forgiveness. In Hong Kong, December 26th is known as Boxing Day, originating from the alms boxes provided by the church during this time.

On December 27th, people celebrate St. John the Evangelist, the only Apostle to not die a martyr. St. John was famous for drinking a cup of poisoned wine and living. After the miraculous John blessed the cup, the poison leapt out of the wine as a snake, leaving John alive and well. Therefore, many liked to drink heavily on his respective day.

December 28th is Holy Innocents day or Childermas, focusing on the biblical event The Massacre of the Innocents. In the story, King Herod, fearing irrationally Jesus would overthrow his rule, commanded the murder of all male infants in Bethlehem. Fortunately, Jesus’ family escaped the massacre, but this holiday was held to pay respect to the infants who unintentionally became Christian martyrs. In the Tudor era, children were put in positions of power at home, school, or even church. Another archaic tradition included whipping one’s children to remind them of the suffering the biblical infants faced.

December 29th celebrates St. Thomas Becket, the former leader of England’s church. From a young age, he was a close associate of Henry II, before a fateful argument took place. Becket argued that laws didn’t apply to the church, but Henry II claimed otherwise. He was exiled for 6 years, and horrifically murdered by the King’s knights upon his tempestuous return on December 29th, 1170.

On December 30th, people feast to remember St. Egwin of Worcester, who maintained his strong morals and discipline, despite others’ disapproval. To remember him, one could visit Evesham Abbey, which contains a fine bell tower and a museum (formerly an almonry).

December 31st is New Years’ Eve, a day for games and sports, from professional matches to classic party games. In Tudor times, Henry VIII legally required that all able-bodied men practice archery on Sundays and holidays to ensure England had a ready supply of good archers for the military. However, certain sports like tennis and football were only allowed on Christmas, so they were widely played. If not playing sports, the Tudors would also indulge in timeless pastimes like blind man’s bluff and hide-and-seek. Fun and strange tournaments persist into 2025, such as the annual tradition of leaping into the frigid Tiber River in Rome, Italy.

January 1st is New Years’ Day. Christians either celebrated Mary, mother of Jesus, or the Holy Name of Jesus. January 1st marks the day whereupon Jesus was circumcised and named at 8 days old, following Jewish tradition.

In the Western church, January 2nd honors St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen. The two former were fabulous friends who battled against heretic beliefs like Arianism, succeeding in restoring Orthodox Christianity to the cities they lived in, thanks to their strong doctrines and persuasiveness.

The Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated on a variety of different dates throughout Christmastide, but January 3rd is the most common. Angel Gabriel instructed Jesus’ guardians, Mary and Joseph, to dub him the Hebrew name ‘Yeshua’ ('יֵשׁוּעַ), a shortened version of the name ‘Yehoshua’ (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ). They primarily spoke Aramaic, but the name was eventually transliterated into ‘Jesus’ in English. Yehoshua literally means ‘God saves’, many believing it holds boundless power.

Numerous saints are regarded on January 4th, including St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neumann, and St. Angela of Foligno. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first saint from the United States, and was known for laying the groundwork for numerous institutions to come with Catholic girls’ school Saint Joseph’s Academy and helping the underprivileged with her charity ‘Sisters of Charity’.

January 5th is Epiphany Eve or Twelfth Night, the conclusion of Christmastide. It celebrates the Magi’s visit to little baby Jesus, who brought gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh, symbolizing Christ’s divinity, royalty, and future suffering, respectively. A lively tradition is the consumption of a ‘king cake’, a sweet bread in which a fava bean or token (often a figurine of a human infant) representing Jesus is hidden inside. After the slices of the king cake are distributed, whoever finds the fava bean receives a prize. Christmas decorations were taken down on this date, as some believed not performing this act would result in misfortune.

Although not part of the 12 days of Christmas, January 6th is Epiphany, the holiday’s culmination. Epiphany celebrates Jesus himself’s manifestation into the world. This date is associated with the arrival of the Magi, Jesus’ baptism, and the first miracle he performed at the wedding in Cana. Throughout the holiday, gifts are given and exchanged.

On January 7th, daily life resumes. For a society which emphasizes hard work and a successful career, a dozen (or more) days of festivities are far more than enough, which is why full Christmastide celebrations have fallen out of favor. However, we can still honor these jolly traditions. Reading biblical stories, consuming traditional meals, and giving gifts to others are all methods to continue this long-standing holiday that we may already do. After all, what better way to enjoy this winter season than channeling your most joyous, pious, glorious Christian (or Jewish, Pagan, Buddhist, etc…) spirit?