What are the twelve days of Christmas all about?
This refers to the period of twelve days between Christmas (Dec. 25) and the Epiphany (Jan. 6), which forms the Christmas season proper, according to the Church liturgical calendar. The first record we have of this twelve days being recognized as a Christian festival is found in the Church father, Ephraeum Syrus, at the end of the fourth century. It was later officially declared to be a sacred season by the Council of Tours in 567. Sources Dawson, W.F., Christmas: Its Origins and Associations (London: Paternoster Row, E.C., 1902). Miles, Clement A., Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912). Weiser, Francis X., Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958).
