“Christmas, the festival day of the birth of Jesus Christ, falls on December 25 in the church in the West. This date in the ancient Roman calendar was observed as a winter solstice holiday associated with non-Christian rituals of light. By the year A.D. 354, the church in the West had transformed the day into the annual festival of the one born to be the Light of the World. White, the color of the season, is appropriately used from Christmas Eve through at least the first Sunday in Epiphany. The season is one of joyful celebration.

— quoted from the Introduction to Worship in the United Church of Christ, as posted on the UCC Web Site.

A Note on Calendar Reckoning

In historical times, days were counted as beginning and ending at sunset (rather than midnight, which required an accurate clock). In that system of reckoning, evenings were the first part of the day, so Christmas day would be considered to begin at sunset on December 24^th, and end at sunset on the 25^th; therefore, Christmas Eve was originally the beginning of the Christmas holy day. This is why so many traditions have Christmas Eve services.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The “12 Days of Christmas” that we sing about begin on the day after Christmas (a common misconception is that the “12 Days” ends on Christmas). Christmas Day is not included in the “12 Days” because it is a Holy Day, and was considered too sacred for partying and merriment; therefore, the “12 Days” began immediately after Christmas.

Using the old “sunset to sunset” reckoning described above, the “12 Days” lasted from sunset on December 25^th until sunset on January 6^th, the day of Epiphany (also known as “Twelfth Day” in many traditions). In this reckoning, the evenings of the twelve days begin on the evening before the specified day, so Twelfth Night is the evening of January 5-6.

This old reckoning has the Church seasons of Christmastide and Epiphany overlapping on January 6^th. Many traditions (including our own) choose to have Christmastide end as Epiphany begins. Thus, we celebrate Christmastide until the early morning of the Twelfth Night.

For a more complete history of the “12 days”, see the Wikipedia page on the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Here at Pilgrim Church

The season begins with two evening worship services on Christmas Eve. The earlier service is intended for families, and has lots of carols, and readings by church members. The later service is usually quieter and more contemplative, and Communion is sometimes celebrated. In recent years, the later service has had instrumental musicians (brass, flutes, or strings), to accompany the holiday music.

Our tradition is to leave the Christmas greenery and decorations up throughout Christmastide. Services during the “12 Days” are festive and beautiful celebrations of Christ's birth.