Even though the “major” holidays have passed, it’s still the holiday season. Back in December, we talked about the 12 Days of Christmas. We’re coming up on the 12th Day, and 12th Night of Christmas. But when is the “Twelfth Night?” Like just about everything these days, something as simple as this generates controversy, or at least disagreement.
Almost everyone agrees that the Twelfth Night is often/usually marked with feasting and entertainment. But is the Twelfth Night the 5th or 6th of January? If you’re anticipating that my extensive research uncovered the correct answer — sorry, there’s still two schools of thought.
The Epiphany — the Christian feast to mark the visit of the Three Kings (or Magi) to the baby Jesus is 6 January. If you count from Christmas Day, the 12th night is 5 January — the eve of the Epiphany. But some people say you should count the 12 days after Christmas, which takes you to the 6th of January. People treat either the 5th or 6th as the day to celebrate, and there are claims on both sides as to which is the Twelfth Night.
I checked the Oxford Dictionary and even that reference supports both sides. If you look in the Oxford Dictionary for “Twelfth Night,” here’s what you’ll find:
“1. 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany.
1.1 Strictly, the evening of 5 January, the eve of the Epiphany and formerly the twelfth and last day of Christmas festivities.”
So I suppose you can celebrate either the 5th or the 6th — or both, if you’re really in to it. And this year, the 6th is also the day congress votes to accept the electoral college’s vote. Here we are barely into the new year and we’ve got plenty of controversy already……
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