Twelfth Night

 The link to this week's live-streamed service is here.

Now that Epiphany Sunday (Twelfth Night) has passed, Christmas is officially over in the church calendar. Of course, for some in the secular world, Christmas ended on Boxing Day. I noticed a lively debate on Facebook re the correct day to take down decorations. Some say it is bad luck to take them down before Epiphany while others want the "mess" cleaned up by Christmas night.

There are also social media posts debating "The Twelve Days of Christmas" -- the song, that is, not the church's definition. Many people think the gifts are code for Christian beliefs, especially Catholic beliefs, written at a time when Roman Catholics in England were persecuted. 

However, there is no real evidence to support this theory. The earliest known version of the song, appeared in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth With-Out Mischief, and was designed as a “memory and forfeits” game. If the singer makes a mistake in the long list of gifts, he must pay a forfeit, usually a kiss. Given that Christmastide tended toward revelry and carousing, I wonder if some of those "mistakes" were made on purpose.

If all the gifts named are added together they come out to 364 and would cost nearly $200,000.00 in today's currency. If you want to hear a comic version of the cost of the gifts -- especially to the recipient -- listen to this one.

The actual twelve days of Christmas varies from denomination to denomination and from century to century and from region to region. In 567 AD, the Council of Tours "proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany 

For the Eastern Orthodox, there is no fasting in the period between Christmas and Epiphany. (Maybe that's why we eat so much during the Christmas season.)  For Orthodox Christians, each day celebrates another event around the birth of Christ. e.g. The Nativity of Jesus, The Adoration of the Shepherds of Bethlehem, the arrival of the Magi, the role of the Virgin Mary,  the Feast of St. Stephen, and the feast of the Holy Innocents, among others.

In western Christianity, the celebration of events is similar, but the dates may differ. Some churches include Christmas Day in the twelve, while others don't start the countdown until Dec. 26. 

Part of this confusion is the use of both the Julian and Gregorian calendar. You may have noticed the Ukrainian cultural centre in Victoria, preparing to celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6. Although, because of the war with Russia, Ukraine itself moved the celebration to Dec. 25.

While the birth of Christ is recorded in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, there are many non-Biblical Christmas traditions that have grown through the ages.
The nativity scene we consider necessary to Christmas decorations comes from Italy, probably originated in the 10th century and popularized by St. Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth.

Our red, green, and gold decorations are symbolic. Red for the blood of Jesus, green for eternal life, and gold, one of the gifts of the Magi.

At SPPC and in our homes, we erect a Christmas tree sometime before Dec. 24. The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539,

Homes, shop windows and churches abound in poinsettia's at this time of year. The plant, a native of Mexico, entered our culture because its shape resembles the Star of Bethlehem.

It wouldn't be Christmas without carols. But, apart from the angels, there are no choirs recorded in the Gospels. Christmas carols probably originated in Rome during the fourth century. English carols became common in the fifteenth century and were sung by wassailers, travelling from house to house. (Don't confuse wassailers with modern day carollers. The medieval version sang, then offered a drink from the wassail bowl to the homeowner in exchange for gifts. In my youth we would go carolling just for the joy of it, usually singing for those who were alone or shut-in. Offers of money were quickly refused.)

Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck the Halls" dates from 1784, and the American "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857.

Whew! So many customs and I haven't even touched on Santa Claus/Sinterklaas/St. Nicholas/Father Christmas and the tradition of gift giving. With all this excess and confusion, it's no wonder the Puritans tried to ban Christmas altogether. But even Oliver Cromwell could not keep folk from celebrating the birth of Christ with music and pageantry and song.

We have had a wonderful Christmas filled with rich tradition, joyful music, and heart-warming reminiscence. But, after all that shortbread and fruit cake and chocolate and plum pudding I find myself craving the cold, crisp crunch of celery. I'm ready to embrace the unadorned, straight-forward Gospel of Mark, rushing headlong into the Good News. 

Happily, Rev. Irwin has a sermon series coming up on just that topic. 

Welcome to the season after Twelfth Night. See you in church.