The Twelve Days of Christmas traditionally begin the day after Christmas Day, now known as Boxing Day, and end with Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is the evening of the 5th January and all day of 6th January. The actual date for Twelfth Night has caused much confusion for years and still does today. The fact that Twelfth Night is also part of Twelfth Day adds to the confusion! Many of our Christmas traditions are based on superstitious belief. After Twelfth Night it is seen as bad luck to still have your Christmas decorations up after this date.
 | | Be sure to eat them all up! |
Twelfth Night is also the last time to eat mince pies. Sampling lots of mince pies at friends and relatives houses from Christmas Eve until Twelfth Night can bring good fortune as the more you eat the more good months are to follow. But don't cut them as this is seen to 'cut your luck'. If you were wise enough to put a leaf of ivy in a bowl of water on New Year's Eve then Twelfth Night Eve will reveal all about your health for 2006. Fresh, green ivy indicates good health but black spots on the sprig suggest you might be visiting the doctor soon! Twelfth Night is so called because it is the twelfth night from Christmas. It has been celebrated as the end of Christmas since the Middle Ages. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Twelfth Night parties were popular with a special Twelfth cake - a forerunner of today's Christmas cake. Twelfth Night is an important day in the Christian calendar as it marks the Feast of the Epiphany when the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem. | 
