Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with Chanticleer!

“But Jiminy Crickets, it is the 26th of December! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.

Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The four weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the Advent.

Although, we will note that some say the first day of the 12 Days of Christmas starts on Christmas Day and continues through January 5th with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th.

So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry—you’ve got an extra 12 days!

• Some say the Twelve Days tradition is wishing good luck and cheer for each of the following months in the new year.
• Others say the first six of the days are to pay homage to the previous year and six of the days that are in the new year bringing hope and glad tidings for coming times.
• The Twelve Days of Christmas would be a welcome break for those who worked the land.

December 26th is also called Boxing Day in the Commonwealth Countries of Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand where it also a bank holiday.

The tradition of boxing day (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica) originated in the Victorian era and late Georgian era. The servants worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so they were given the 26th off to be with their own families. The upper class would take leftover food, goods, or money and put them in boxes to give out to those less fortunate. It also said that the church would hand out alms boxes to the poor on St. Stephen’s Day, Dec. 26th, who was known for helping the poor.

In modern times, Boxing Day is the day of football (soccer), cricket, and boxing matches.

Singing the 12 Days of Christmas

If you are singing the song, and you miss or mess up a verse, you owe your opponent (the person singing the round before you a kiss or a sweet treat or grant a favor).

We at Chanticleer have our own way of celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with our fellow Chanticleerians.

Yuletide

Yule (or Germanic Jol or Anglo-Saxon Geol) refers to the Winter Solstice.

Celebrating Yule-Tide, pen-and-pencil drawing by Richard Lovett in Norwegian Pictures (1885), based on the 1846 oil-on-canvas painting Juleskikk by Adolph Tidemand.

Yule is one of the oldest winter solstice festivals, with origins among the ancient Norse thousands of years ago. Its roots are complicated and difficult to trace, although there are several theories about how and why the festival was celebrated. It is generally agreed that Yule celebrations began as a Norse festival called jol, although assessments of the purpose and traditions vary. Like most winter solstice festivals, themes of light, fire, and feasting are common threads.

“Yule” became a name for Christmas about the 9th century, and in many languages yule and its cognates are still used to describe that holiday—jul in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish; joulud in Estonian; joulu in Finnish; and jol in Icelandic. The Christmas holiday is still referred to as Yule in the Scots language. According to the saga of King Haakon Haraldsson (also known as Haakon I Adalsteinsfostre or Haakon the Good) of Norway, who ruled in the 10th century, the Norse Yule celebration and Christian Christmas celebration were merged during his reign. Haakon became Christian after a visit to England, and after his return to Norway he put into law that Yule should be celebrated at the same time as Christmas. Everyone was required to have ale from a measure of grain and keep the holiday while the ale lasted or else be subject to a fine.[Encyclopedia Britannica]

Get ready for 12 days of ideas for your new year of writing, along with lots of good cheer!

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team! 

On the First Day of Christmas, my true love sent to me—a Rooster in a pear tree!

What are the 12 Days of Christmas?

The 12 Days of Christmas historically mark the time from the birth of Christ until the day the Three Magi (or the Three Wise Men) arrived in Bethlehem with their gifts for the Epiphany, (also known as Three Kings’ Day). According to the Western calendar, the 12 days start with Christmas on December 26th and end with the Epiphany on January 6th. However, there are numerous other ways of celebrating from around the world.

But what do rings, geese, and drummers have to do with Christmas?

“The 12 Days of Christmas” song uses Christian lore as guidelines but is considered to be a secular song. Instead, the song is historically thought to be a cumulative group memory game as the verses build on each other and the catchy tune make it easy to join in. Imagine a family-friendly version of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” and you’ve got the right idea.

The 12 Days of Christmas are traditionally associated with gifting and generosity starting with St. Stephen’s Day, or Boxing Day, where historically servants or help in households were gifted bonuses, trinkets, and modest feasts by their employers. Some people hold fast to the Twelve Nights celebrations gift something to friends and family each day of the holiday period rather than all on Christmas Day. This is where the pear tree comes in.

“The 12 Days of Christmas” harks the piles of gifts received from “a true love” daily during the long holiday. The lyrics and melody can differ with country and church but the well-known version of today is thought to be popularized in 1909 by English composer Frederic Austin.

On the 1st Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.

The meaning of the lyrics have long been debated with theories ranging from a betrothal tune illuminating courting gifts to being coded lessons on the tenants of Christianity.

The partridge represents the ultimate love, a true love. The pear tree is where the partridge perches to protect its loved one.

A modern examination however, has revealed the possibility that all the “gifts” are actually types of fowl commonly eaten and served during feasts in the High Middle Ages in Europe. Partridges, birds in the pigeon family like doves, and geese are more commonly known to be eaten both then and now, but the other gifted birds are harder to figure out.

More details about how the birds of the 12 Days of Christmas were possibly identified, cooked, and eaten can be found here.

On the 1st Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…

An invitation to join our curated online community The Roost!

We are so proud of the community we have on The Roost!  It is great perch for writers and publishers to hang out in and connect.

We host weekly write-ins, discussions of writing craft books, genre specific writing groups, and advice on the author’s journey. With authors in all stages of the writing process joining us, there is always something to learn on this independent PRIVATE social media site. You will find your community on The Roost!

Writing may seem like a solitary activity, but stories are told in community. Whether you find that on The Roost or elsewhere, we’re happy that you are a part of our community here at Chanticleer.

Stay tuned for the 2nd Day of Christmas!

Our favorite part about having the 12 Days of Christmas is that we get the time we need to celebrate BIG with our loved ones. We have time for wrapping our presents, meeting with friends for hot cocoa, and setting ourselves up for success with the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025 in Bellingham, WA)  As always, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com with any questions!

Wishing you Happy Holidays from Team Chanticleer: Kiffer, David, Dena, Scott, Anya, and Argus!