12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
CONCORDIA HISTORICAL INSTITUTE SERIES

 
Wassail, mistletoe, and, of course, partridges in pear trees. But what are the  REALLY about?

Two years ago, we ran a series on the 12 Days of Christmas. The posts were very popular and seemed to answer quite a number of questions that people had about the Christmas season and its history. Our audience has grown quite a bit since then, so we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit the series.
 
Beginning on December 25th (the First Day of Christmas!), join Concordia Historical Institute as we explore the historic 12 Days of Christmas and some feast days, commemorations, and other festivities that take place during Christmastide.
 
The twelve days between the end of Advent, the season of preparation leading up to Christmas, and Epiphany, the arrival of the wise men or Magi to adore the Christ child, are known as Christmastide. (The ending "-tide" means period or season.) In a day and age when the "Christmas season" seemingly stretches from early November until December 25th and not a millisecond later, it can be exceptionally helpful to return to the traditional rhythms of the church's calendar, with its emphasis on setting aside a period to linger and dwell on the miracle of Christ coming to us. With the hustle and bustle—not to mention holiday blues—that so many now associate with secular and commercialized Christmas obligations, this can be a peace-bringing and freeing tradition to bring into your life.
 
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has no set sequence of feasts and commemorations for all twelve of the days in Christmastide. Many of the days do have set festivals and remembrances that appear on the official LCMS liturgical calendar, however, many do not. Not all of the commemorations we will be mentioning are celebrated within the Lutheran church, as many of the individuals were neither biblical figures, early church figures, nor Lutherans, the three types of people recognized in our liturgical commemorations. However, the histories and stories of all of these Christians should prove educational and uplifting, regardless.
For more resources on commemorations within the LCMS, please see the official LCMS Worship Resources page or Rev. William Weedon's book, Celebrating the Saints (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2016).

Click the following link to view the series on the 12 days of Christmas