The Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is a festival, in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany.

For Eastern Orthodox, the Eve of the Theophany (5 January) is a day of strict fasting, on which the devout will not eat anything until the first star is seen at night.

In Colonial America as was already the tradition in their native England, all decorations would be taken down by Epiphany morning and the remainder of the edibles would be consumed. A special cake, the king cake, was also baked then for Epiphany.

In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Twelfth Night is the last day for decorations to be taken down, and it is held to be bad luck to leave decorations up after this.

In the United States, for some, Twelfth Night remains the biggest night for parties and gift-giving. Some households exchange gifts on the first (25 December) and last (5 January) days of the season. As in olden days, Twelfth Night to Epiphany morning is then the traditional time to take down the Christmas tree and decorations.