Twelfth Night

Is it today or tomorrow?  The difference in opinion is said to be down to the fact that in centuries past, Christmas was deemed to start at sunset on Dec 24 and so the twelfth night following it was Jan 5. Nowadays, people count from Dec 25 and so assume Twelfth Night falls on the 6th at the end of the twelfth day after Christmas.

I like to think that it is at Epiphany when traditionally the three Wise Men arrived at the stable in Bethlehem.   For me it is still part of Christmas period and I don’t like to dismantle the decorations until the 6th January although many people take down the tree before the New Year.  It is supposed to be unlucky to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night but I will take mine down tomorrow although the tree still looks almost as fresh as the day we bought it.

Traditionally we have a special meal on Twelfth Night and enjoy for the last time of the beautiful lit tree before putting away the decorations. When we had an open fire we would cut off the little branches and enjoy watching them burn before making toast with a toasting fork at bedtime and then the tree trunk would be cut up and used on the fire the next Christmas Eve. 

My alternative ‘tree’ too will lose its baubles but I can keep the dried umbellifer heads and make a different arrangement.