Twelve Days?

[republished from 12/25/04]

The 12 Days of Christmas commence today! From the 25th through the Epiphany, we celebrate the Incarnation. But the Christmas season doesn't really end until Jan.8= the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In the meantime, numerous observances occur:

Dec.25= Nativity of the Lord
Dec. 28= the Feast of the Holy Innocents (those massacred by Herod, but also a day to mourn the countless victims of abortion)
Dec.31= the Feast of the Holy Family
Jan.1= the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Jan.3- Feast of the Holy Name
Jan. 7= Epiphany of the Lord (traditionally on the 6th, but moved to the nearest Sunday at the discretion of the US Bishops)
and Jan.8= Baptism of the Lord

You really could extend your Christmas observance until Feb.2= Feast of the Presentation. We've been known to keep our tree up until then, and I have it on good authority the Pope doesn't take his tree down until then. So it's justified, regardless of what our backwards culture might have to say about it.

Bear in mind that the Holy Days of Obligation are as follows:
Dec.25= Solemnity of the Nativity
Jan.1= Solemnity of Mary
[In CatholicLand, Jan.6 is listed as the Solemnity of the Epiphany, an HDO everywhere else in the world but America]

You'll note that Dec.25 through Jan.6 is in fact 12 days, but with the observance of the Epiphany being moved to the nearest Sunday, math gets thrown off a bit. In olden days, they only cared about those 12 days. With liturgical reform, it was deemed necessary to encapsulate the Baptism within the Christmas celebration. But I still maintain that Christmas goes until Feb.2, because it was 40 days before children were presented in the Temple, and I like the idea of having those 40 days mirror and foreshadow Lent.

Check out Catholic Culture for thorough treatment of the 12 Days.