History and Tradition of Selected Holidays: “Twelfth Night” and the Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh.

January 5, 2019 – Twelfth Night (holiday)

In the Christian calendar, January 5 marks the celebration of Twelfth Night (holiday). It’s the twelfth night of Christmas, and with it comes Epiphany. As opposed to common assumption, there is more to Christmas than merely the 25th of December. Christmas is more than only the 25th of December, despite what many people believe. Those twelve days of Christmas aren’t just limited to the first day. Starting on Christmas Day (December 25) and concluding on Epiphany (January 6), these are the Twelve Days of Christmas (January 6).

Twelfth Night was the culmination of twelve days of Christmas celebrations in the Middle Ages. Days and nights are kept in two different tally systems. The night before Epiphany, known as the eve of the feast, became the center of the festivities as a result. The “first night,” or December 25, marks the start of the twelve-day countdown. December 26 is the “first day,” December 26 night is the “second night,” and so on. The evening of December 24th is known as Twelfth Night, and January 6th is celebrated as Epiphany.

As with any party, the focus of the festivities surrounding this festival is on the food and drink. Wassail is a Christmastime punch that is especially popular on Twelfth Night. On Twelfth Night, bakeries all across the world produce festive treats like the tortell and the king cake. As part of the Feast of the Epiphany festivities, they are consumed the next day. Chalk door blessings are a tradition for some. For 2019, they would chalk the equation “20 + C =M +B + 19.” There are two interpretations to these letters. It is the symbol of the Magi’s first letter (Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar). They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat “May Christ bless the house.” The cross is represented by the “+” symbol, while the years “20” and “19” at the beginning and end, respectively, indicate the calendar.

Others believe it is bad luck to keep Christmas decorations up past Twelfth Night, however some people do so up until Candlemas. Singing Christmas carols, having one’s home blessed, partying, and going to church are also common activities on Twelfth Night.

Gurpurab Guru Gobind Singh

Gurpurab Sikhs all over the world gather every year to honor Guru Gobind Singh by celebrating his birthday on April 14. He entered the world on January 5, 1666, and he was the tenth and final Sikh Guru. Sikhism started with a single individual, Guru Nanak. Just before he passed away, he appointed a devotee to succeed him as Guru (leader) of the Sikhs. Prior to Guru Gobind Singh’s passing, each Guru had already chosen a successor.

A number of issues had already arisen among the Sikh community by the time of Guru Gobind Singh. Those in charge of the finances have succumbed to corruption. Most of the time, they would either not give it back or spend it on something else. Someone else impersonated the Guru and disseminated incorrect information. This led to a great deal of consternation. The Guru thought eliminating the need for Gurus would be the answer to all of these issues. A spiritual authority, however, would still be necessary for Sikhs. Khalsa was founded by Guru Gobind Singh to address this issue (brotherhood).