When is the 12th Night?
Once again we are faced with the task of taking all the decorations down. Which brings with it the usual question of, when?
Maybe some of you have already moved everything away hoping for a better Christmas next year, but for those of you still surrounded by the trimmings, when should they officially come down?
Each year we are faced with much debate about the correct day.
According to the Christian view dating back to the 4th century, the end of Christmas is marked by the Eve of the Epiphany. Taking decorations down before then has long been seen as a harbinger of bad luck by many. At the same time, it is bad luck to leave them up beyond the right date too! That poses a few problems if you are of the superstitious kind.
12th Night is usually stated to be the right time for the trip back up into the loft or to the tip with our decorations until next year, but that in itself isn’t a simple matter.
Basically, Advent is a four week celebration of the Christmas season which ends on the Twelfth Night, which tells us we should take our decorations down on January 5.
The Church of England celebrates Twelfth Night on 5th January, and the season of Epiphany from 6th January to 2nd February. However, some mark 6th January as Twelfth Night, counting the 12 days after Christmas Day, which is where the confusion stems from. Oh dear.
Despite the arguments about the date, most agreement is for 5th Jan!
Uhm, or is it the 6th?
When you work it out, please let me know!
