Farewell To Christmas

When all is done, when the twelve days of Christmas are over, we may begin to look forward to the next year. It is time to dismantle your Solstice shrine (if you made one) and time to take down the Christmas tree if you have one. Some things you will want to keep; the more ephemeral components can be returned to nature, to be remade next year....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found here: Farewell To Christmas

Twelfth Night Cake

Traditionally, a cake was baked for this day, and a bean hidden somewhere in the mixture and baked along with it. Whoever received the piece of cake with the bean was appointed King or Queen of the Bean for the night, and lead the company in songs and games. Here's a recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups currants...

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Twelfth Night

In Old England, The Twelfth Night marked the end of the winter festival that started on Samhain. The Lord of Misrule symbolizes the world turning upside down with the coming of winter. In the middle ages, the Twelfth Night began on the eve of December 25th moving forward 12 days to January 6th, hence the name the twelve days of Christmas.

The Twelfth Night festival marked the onset of the winter solstice, the point in late December when the sun, whose daily arc had reached its lowest, darkest, coldest point, began its rise toward the longer, warmer days and the coming of spring. ...

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Evergreen Day

The eleventh day of Christmas is Evergreen Day. An evergreen tree is a tree that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous trees which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.

The term "evergreen" can refer metaphorically to something that is continuously renewed or is self-renewing...

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It's Snow Day

The ninth day of Christmas is Snow Day. On this day we pay our respects to snow. No depiction of Christmas and Midwinter celebration is complete without it. Snow has so many qualities and so many aspects that it is not surprising that the Inuit people have literally hundreds of words that describe its variety of colors and texture....

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The Kalends of January

The Kalends of January was a significant part of the Roman Midwinter celebrations, and has lent its name to Midwinter festivals all over the Western world. For example, in Provence in France the festival is known as Calendas, in Poland it is called Kolenda, and in Russia, Kolyada. In the Czech Republic it is called Koteda, in Lithuania, Kalledos, and in Wales and Scotland, Calenig and Calluinn respectively - all these names derived from the Latin Kalendae, and all referring to the festival of midwinter.

Initially the Kalends followed Saturnalia, beginning a few days of rest to allow aching heads and stomachs to recover! At this time new consuls were inducted into office, and for at least three days a high festival took place...

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Bringing In The Boar

The sixth day of Christmas is the day of "Bringing in the Boar." Two traditions honor the importance of the boar at Solstice tide. In Scandinavia, Frey, the god of sunshine, rode across the sky on his golden-bristled boar. Gulli-burstin, who was seen as a solar image, his spikes representing the rays of the sun. 

In the ancient Norse tradition, the intention was to gain favor from Frey in the new year. The boar's head with an apple in his mouth was carried into the banquet hall on a gold or silver dish to the sounds of trumpets and the songs of minstrels....

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Feast Of Fools

The Feast of Fools, a day when the normal order of things was ceremonially reversed, has been neglected for a long while - unfortunately, as it could well serve in our own times as a safe way of letting off steam. Essentially, it allowed people who were restricted from even the most casual of pleasure by the Church, to act in an abandoned way. It was also a time of festivity that was both part of, and sometimes even superseded, Christmas.

So, why not celebrate the Feast of Fools by ...

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Dyzymas Day

Today (December 28) is Dyzymas Day, also known as Holy Innocent's Day, or Childremass. This day has always, in one way or another been associated with children. In more recent times the connection is specifically with the children slaughtered at the orders of Herod, who feared the prophecy of the Magi that a new King of the Jews had been born in Judea.

Throughout the Middle Ages this day was considered particularly unlucky and it was believed that no task begun on December 28th would prosper. ...

In Northamptonshire it was known as Dyzymas Day and a local saying was: "What is begun on Dyzymas Day will never be finished."

A more barbaric practice that continued well into the eighteenth century was to beat children on this day....

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Mother Night

Mother Night is traditionally celebrated on the third day of the twelve days of Christmas. I couldn't find much lore, but I did find this nice little article in The Winter Solstice about Mother Christmas (Frau Holle, Holda, Hulda, Holla):

Honoring the Mothers

There are so many male figures associated with the Winter Solstice, we should give room to at least one female character, and who better than Mother Christmas? On this day, include a figure of Holda upon your Winter shrine....

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St John's Wine

In the Christian calendar the third day of Christmas is given over to St. John, the beloved disciple. Throughout Germany and Austria, it is still customary to have the priest bless the wine on this day. The resulting "St John's wine" is considered very lucky and is believed to have healing properties. It is preserved throughout the year, and even ordinary bottles placed next to it are said to taste better!

Here's the traditional blessing:

Priest: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray. If it please you, Lord God, bless + and consecrate + this vessel of wine (or any other beverage) by the power of ...

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St Stephen's Day

St Stephen's Day draws together a number of solstice traditions. We have already learned of the ancient practice of hunting the wren, the King of all birds (see King Wren), and of displaying the tiny corpse around the villages throughout Britain and Ireland. The origins of this custom probably date back to the time when kings were slaughtered after a year in office - and in France up until the seventeenth century the first person to kill and display the body of the wren was chosen king for a day at the time of the Feast of Fools.

The association of the wren killing with St. Stephen's Day may well derive from a legend of the saint's visit to Scandinavia.

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The Twelve Days of Yule

The following is a variation on the famous song about the twelve Days of Christmas from Scotland.

Gather a few friends around the fire. Have one of them say or sing the first verse aloud. Then have everyone repeat it, the same with the next verse and so on. As the verses get longer, whoever makes a slip in repeating the lines pays a forfeit - any small object they may possess such as a candy or a nut.

(Note also the 13th day of Yule - a sure sign of an ancient origin.)

The Days of Yule

The King sent his lady on the first Yule day

A papingo-aye (exotic parrot).

Who learns my carol and carries it away?

...

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The Twelve Days of Christmas

From the earliest times the twelve days have been regarded as a time when supernatural events can easily happen, when the dead are close at hand and might often be seen.

One reads of the Wild Hunt, or the Fairy Host riding across the lands of Britain and Germany in particular, led by characters such as King Arthur, Woden, and Arawn, the Celtic god of the Underworld. In Ireland these supernatural hunters are known as the Yule Host, and in common with all these bands they are believed to gather up wandering souls and carry them away to the Otherworld.

The Twelve Days of Christmas stand outside of "ordinary time," and celebrations focus on the return of the sun and a continuation of the eternal cycle of life....

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been expanded and moved to The Pagan Calendar (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be viewed in its entirety here: The Twelve Days of Christmas

Twelfth Night Wassail Celebration

Wassailing the trees occurred on old "twelfth night", the 12th night after Christmas eve, or January 17th on the old calendar. Obviously traditions varied, but in Devonshire, Herefordshire and in other parts of the West Country of England (as well as elsewhere no doubt) families would hold a feast with cakes, cider and in some areas beer and ale too. After a time of eating and drinking everyone trooped out to the orchard to wassail the trees, and wake them up from winter for the coming season as well as scare off any bad energy, spirits or demons .

Ale, beer or cider soaked toast, in some areas special cakes, would be placed in the tree branches or in a fork of the tree, and then be splashed with more cider. Trees might be beaten with sticks...

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: Twelfth Night Wassail Celebration