Traditionally, Twelfth Night is a Christian holiday, celebrated on January 5. It marks the twelfth & final night of the Christmas season & the coming of Epiphany. Contrary to popular belief, Christmas is not just December 25. That is only the first day of Christmas & it includes the eleven days that follow. The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day (December 25) & end on Epiphany (January 6).
During the Middle Ages, Christmas was a time of continuous feasting & merriment, which climaxed on Twelfth Night. The days & nights are counted separately. Therefore, the height of celebration became the night before, or eve, of Epiphany. The twelve day count actually begins with the night of December 25, the "first night." The day of December 26 is the "first day," the night of December 26 is the "second night," & so on. The Twelfth Night is the night before Epiphany, & the twelfth day is Epiphany itself.
Food & drink are central in the celebrations of this holiday. The punch, called wassail, is consumed during Christmastime, but especially on Twelfth Night. Around the world, special pastries, such as the tortell & king cake, are baked on Twelfth Night. They are eaten the following day for the Feast of the Epiphany celebrations. Some people chalk their doors indicating the year & the initials of the 3 Kings, Caspar, Malchior, & Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat “May Christ bless the house. as a way of blessing their home.
There is also a popular belief that it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, though some may leave them up until Candlemas. Other popular Twelfth Night customs include singing Christmas carols, having one's house blessed, merrymaking, as well as attending church services.
In some countries, Twelfth Night & Epiphany mark the start of the Carnival season. For Carnival in the United States, think about New Orleans, where it lasts through Mardi Gras Day.
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In the late 17C, the English diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) described his enjoyment of a new custom whereby Twelfth Night merrymakers drew slips of paper from a hat on which were written the names of characters found at the bean king's court. They were expected to impersonate this character for the rest of the evening. In this way everyone present at the celebration, not just the king & queen, got into the act.
By the end of the 18C this innovation had almost completely replaced the earlier custom of planting a bean & a pea inside the Twelfth Night cake. In fact, it became so popular with ordinary folk that, by the end of the 18C, shops sold packets of cards & sheets of paper with names & drawings of characters printed on them. The absurd names given to these characters served to describe their exaggerated personalities. Examples included Sir Tunbelly Clumsy, Sir Gregory Goose, & Miss Fanny Fanciful.
One anonymous writer in the Universal Magazine of 1774 wrote: "I went to a friend's house in the country to partake of some of those innocent pleasures that constitute a Merry Christmas; I did not return until I had been present at drawing King and Queen, and eaten a slice of the Twelfth Cake.....A noble cake was produced, and two bowls, containing the fortunate chances for the different sexes. Our host filled up the tickets; the whole company, except for the King and Queen, were to be ministers of state, maids of honour, or ladies of the bedchamber. Our kind host and hostess, whether by accident or design, became King and Queen. According to Twelfth Day law, each party is to support their character until midnight."
One anonymous writer in the Universal Magazine of 1774 wrote: "I went to a friend's house in the country to partake of some of those innocent pleasures that constitute a Merry Christmas; I did not return until I had been present at drawing King and Queen, and eaten a slice of the Twelfth Cake.....A noble cake was produced, and two bowls, containing the fortunate chances for the different sexes. Our host filled up the tickets; the whole company, except for the King and Queen, were to be ministers of state, maids of honour, or ladies of the bedchamber. Our kind host and hostess, whether by accident or design, became King and Queen. According to Twelfth Day law, each party is to support their character until midnight."
