Today Christmas is finally over. Traditionally, the holiday lasted 12 days, and this is the twelfth. So call it twelve drummers drumming day. Or, to use the historical term, Twelfth Night, which is not only the name of a very good play but was a time of revelry and merry making. So I wish you a Merry Christmas one more time for the season and a Merry Twelfth Night tonight!
Or are you weary of celebrating, satiated with all of the holiday feasting and eager to get back to normal? We sort of have extended the Christmas festivities through twelve days, what with New Year’s Day revels, plus throwing in a long weekend, as this year. But Molly Hemingway proposes that we change the way we celebrate Christmas by spreading it out over all 12 days.
She advocates holding a true penitential Advent, with no Black Fridays, no decorations, and no Christmas songs. That would be followed by 12 days of parties and gift-giving. Read her full proposal: Let’s Bring Back The 12 Days Of Christmas.
Granted the general difficulty of changing cultural customs, what would you think of this?
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In