Twelfth Night in the UK is traditionally the time to take down your Christmas decorations; if you leave them longer it is supposed to bring bad luck. The trouble is that no-one seems able to agree whether it is the 5th or 6th January (or even some other date altogether!) Personally I usually take mine down earlier, suddenly wanting a return to 'normal'.
In the Christian church the celebration of Twelfth Night is Epiphany, the time when the three wise men were supposed to have visited the infant Jesus.
It also relates to celebrations in medieval and Tudor times (which may in turn date back to Roman customs) to mark the end of the winter festival. A cake with a bean inside was eaten. Whoever got the bean became the Lord of Misrule for the night, presiding over the feast amid much merriment.
Hee hee not such a wise man.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Jenny, mine came down pretty quick this year. This is the first year Aimee hasn't lived at home at Christmas, although she did sleep over Christmas Eve :) when she was here I wasn't allowed to take them down before the 12th day, now I can do what I like haha!
ReplyDeleteha ha, nice one Jenny
ReplyDeleteI love the door and wreath
ReplyDeleteRegards
I took mine down yesterday - would normally wait until after Jan 6 but had time yesterday!
ReplyDeleteHere in the Appalachian Mountains the 6th used to be called 'Old Christmas' and folks celebrated by bonfires and firing guns into the air, as well as other revelries. http://digitalheritage.org/2012/02/old-christmas-in-appalachia/
ReplyDeleteI took the Naples stuff down yesterday just because it seemed to be long enough. I have no interesting American traditions to cite. I just wanted to have the place return to normal. And, I had the time.
ReplyDelete