History of Epiphany and Twelfth Night: Ending the 12 Days of Christmas?
HISTORY OF TWELFTH NIGHT AND EPIPHANY
Twelfth Night is on January 5, the eve of Epiphany, which falls on January 6 in the Christian calendar.
Epiphany signifies the event of the Magi, or Wise Men, visiting the baby Jesus. In some Latin cultures, it is known as Three Kings Day.
Or, as my friend Tim LeCroy likes to say,
“Epiphany is the…
In Eastern (Orthodox and Oriental) churches, it is known as the Feast of Theophany (God Manifest). This feast commemorates Jesus’ baptism, with the attendant appearance of the Holy Spirit as a dove and the voice of God the Father. The story is recounted in all four Gospels of the New Testament. This date is also tied to Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine at the Wedding at Cana in the Gospel of John, Chapter 2.
Christmas vs. Advent
The 12 Days of Christmas don’t end at Christmas; Advent does. Instead, the 12 days start with Christmas and end with Epiphany Eve. These 12 days are sometimes called Christmastide.
The subsequent “Epiphany season” or Epiphanytide lasts from January 6 through the day before Lent. Some Latin American and European cultures extend this season to February 2 or Candlemas.
Epiphany In the East
“Epiphany” is a Greek word that means manifestation, appearance, revelation, or showing forth. Historically, Epiphany began in the Eastern Church as the celebration of the nativity of Jesus Christ during the 1st century. In the 2nd century, St. Clement of Alexandria discussed this celebration and the night vigil preceding the Feast. Additionally, 2nd-century St. Hippolytus of Rome and 3rd-century St. Gregory the Miracle-Worker discussed this observance.
As the celebration of Christmas spread eastward, Epiphany changed to its present meaning. It is sometimes called the Feast of Lights. It is ironic that in years when Chanukah overlaps Christmastide, Epiphany is so close to Chanukah, the Jewish “Feast of Lights.” We recall that the villain in the Chanukah narrative was Antiochus Epiphanes IV, or “Antiochus, God made manifest.”
Epiphany In the West
In Western churches (Protestant, Catholic, and Anglican), Epiphany commemorates the Magi’s “adoration” of the Christ Child as they presented their gifts. In this way, they were “revealing” Jesus to the world as Lord and King.
Twelfth Night Play
Scene from ‘Twelfth Night’ (‘Malvolio and the Countess’), by Daniel Maclise. Image: Tate
The preceding evening is sometimes called the “Twelfth Night,” being the 12th Day of Christmas. William Shakespeare‘s play by the same name, sometimes called Twelfth Night or What You Will, features mistaken identities, unrequited love, music, and merriment appropriate to Twelfth Night celebrations.
It is likely the play was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I for performance at the end of the embassy of the Italian diplomat, Duke of Orsino (the name of the play’s character who is Duke of Illyria) on January 6, 1601, at her Whitehall Palace. Other scholars debate this date, claiming it was first performed the following winter on February 2, 1602.
When Is Twelfth Night?
There remains some confusion about which date Twelfth Night occurs. The older tradition, based on the custom of the Middle Ages, held that the beginning of a day began the evening before. This places Twelfth Night on the eve of January 5 or the “Eve of the Feast of Epiphany.” Later traditions, in which the day begins at midnight, have Twelfth Night on January 6, with a party and the exchange of gifts.
The Russian church’s Christmas, or Feast of the Nativity, is celebrated on January 7. Many Eastern Orthodox churches follow the older Julian Calendar rather than the more widely accepted Gregorian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar, December 25 corresponds to approximately January 7 in the Gregorian Calendar.
January 5 is Paramony, also known as the Forefeast of Theophany, the “Eve of the Feast of Epiphany,” paralleling the December 24 Feast of Christmas Eve.
By the way, you may take down your Christmas decorations now.
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
Podcast:
Here is the chief hymn (troparion) of Theophany:
When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan
the worship of the Trinity was made manifest!
For the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee,
calling Thee his Beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
confirmed the truthfulness of his Word.
O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself
and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee
John, thanks. You never cease to amaze me!
Hi,
In France we celebrate the Epiphany on the first Sunday of January by sharing a cake (either a round brioche or a flat almond pastry) which contains a little symbol. Who gets the “feve” becomes king for the day and wears a golden paper crown.
In Italy they have a custom with a witch giving candies or pieces of coal to the children. Candy for the nice kids, coal for the naughty.
Take care,
-karim
Thank you for all this information, I learned now. On the 6th of January we celebrate Three Kings Day. After dinner we eat yoghurt or something like that. The one who finds the bean is King and may tell what will be done that evening.
That Italian custom looks like the celebration of Saint Nicholas in Holland, who has his birthday at December 6th. The evening befor is a giving-party. In the 3 weeks befor children may put one shoe near the chimney. Nice kids will find a present, naughty ones a bit of salt. The persons who surround St. Nicholas (with long white beard and red overcoat) are painted black.
Did know that on that January 6th the Advent-period stops. But it logic to me. After the 6th we clear our Xmas-tree and the house is ‘normal’ again. That was always that way, normal to me. But now it looks like that other ‘purple’ period, about the same length.
Agree about Epiphany, but in England at least 12th Night is ‘Epiphany Eve’ (ie the night before Epiphany in the same way that Christmas Eve is the night before Christmas Day.)
It’s not like ‘Tuesday night’.
Mark,
Thanks for the note. Confusion reigns on this topic. It’s actually both ways: the older tradition — as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary and practiced in England — has 12th Night on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. The later tradition — where days start at midnight — has it the evening of January 5.
Here in America, we’ve mostly forgotten both traditions and few celebrate it. Commercial marketers erroneously put the 12 Days of Christmas before December 25, and the season ends on the 25th followed by “after Christmas sales.” New Years Day closes the holiday season here with people returning to work the next day.
I’ve updated my article to clear up the ambiguity.
-Bill
Eric Metaxis did a radio spot on the relationship between Epiphany and the novel Ben Hur. Find it here: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/24197?spMailingID=7700952&spUserID=OTQ0MjIxMzc5S0&spJobID=112285985&spReportId=MTEyMjg1OTg1S0
I really enjoyed your article and it threw light on my understanding. Thanks so much.
Thank you for this interesting information. God bless.
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