"Twelfth-day" is the twelfth day after Christmas, or Epiphany, occurring on the 6th of January. It is a festival of the Christian church in commemoration of the manifestation of Christ by the star which guided the magi to Bethlehem. "Twelfth-night" is the eve of Epiphany, when many social festivities and superstitious rites were observed. "Twelfth-tide" is the time or festival of twelfth-day. "The Twelfths" are the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. Epiphany is also called "Little Christmas," being the social festival which brings the merry-makings of the Christmas cycle to an end.
A special cake, called "Twelfthcake," is prepared for the festivities on twelfth-night. A bean or a coin is baked into it, and, the cake being divided by lot, whoever draws the slice containing it is entitled to preside as king or queen over the festivities. This custom is a relic of the old Roman festival of the Saturnalia, at the close of which the Roman children drew lots with beans to see who would be king....
I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website The Pagan Calendar (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: Epiphany
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