The true purpose behind each of the 12 days of Christmas
Some years ago, my friend Wolf Howling took the time to look into the true festivals celebrated on each of the 12 days of Christmas — that holiday celebrated during medieval times on the longest, darkest, coldest days of a year that, in so many homes, got light and warmth only from a smoking fireplace. As we are about to begin the 12 days, you might enjoy thinking about the original celebrations marking each day:
On the 1st Day of Christmas . . . Celebrating The Birth Of Christ
On the 2nd Day of Christmas . . . Feast of St. Stephen, The First Martyr of the Church
On the 3rd Day of Christmas . . . Feast of St. John the Evangelist & The Blessing Of The Wine
On the 4th Day of Christmas . . . Feast of the Holy Innocents
On the 5th Day of Christmas . . . Feast of St. Thomas a’ Becket
On the 6th Day of Christmas . . . Feast of the Holy Family*
On the 7th Day of Christmas . . . Feast of St. Sylvester
On the 8th Day of Christmas . . . Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God . . . and during Medieval times, The Feast of Fools and the Feast of the Circumsision
On the 9th Day of Christmas . . . Feasts of Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen
On the 10th Day of Christmas . . . Feast of the Holy Name
On the 11th Day of Christmas . . . Feria
On the 12th Day of Christmas . . . 12th Night