The Twelve Days of Christmas - The Twelfth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelfth Day

The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas Day on December 25 and ends on January 5, with the next day being Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on the church, January 6 may mark Christ’s baptism (in the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the day that the wise men (or the Magi) visited Jesus with their gifts.

The Day of Epiphany is when the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the Magi. Magi means wise men.

From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During that era someone wrote ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas‘ as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without risk of persecution. The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church. Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality.

Some beliefs believe that the day after Christmas started the 12 Days of Christmas. You also hear some people think its the 12 days that lead up to Christmas. But reality, it starts on December 25, that is the first day.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

The carol says On The Twelfth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me...

Twelve Drummers Drumming

According to catechism hidden meaning it means …

The twelve points of the doctrine of the Apostle’s Creed

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord;
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell;
5. The third day he rose again from the dead;
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead;
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost;
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints;
10. The forgiveness of sins;
11. The resurrection of the body;
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.