Re-posted from my co-worker, Mark Zimmerman: Happy 6th Day of Christmas! Heres the quick explanation... The world (since the retail era began after The Civil War) says that the Christmas season runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The traditional church calendar - for hundreds of years - has said that the Advent season begins four Sundays before Christmas. THEN, the Christmas season begins - on Christmas Day. What follows are The 12 Days of Christmas - Christmas Day being the first. The season progresses to January 5th, the 12th day (Shakespeare fans note: this is how his comedy Twelfth Night got its name!). Then, January 6th, the Christmas season concludes with Epiphany (the revealing) when Jesus identity as the King is revealed by the arrival of the three kings. (In Latin cultures, Epiphany is called El Dia de los Tres Magos - The Day of the Three Kings) Of course, Biblical scholarship shows that it didnt happen in such a neat and tidy sequence (Jesus was most likely a toddler when the three kings caught up with him), but for an ancient church that followed a set calendar of festivals, making everything fit together neatly was a very good way to operate. (mz)
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:27:41 +0000