Twelfth Night January 5

In 567, the Council of Tours "proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive time, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast." Christopher Hill, along with William J. Federer, states that this was done in order to solve the "administrative problem of the Roman Empire as it attempted to coordinate the Julian solar calendar with the lunar calendars of its eastern provinces."

In medieval and Tudor England, Candlemas traditionally marked the end of the Christmas season, although later Twelfth Night came to mark the end of Yuletide, with a new but related Epiphany season running up to Candlemas.

 A popular Twelfth Night tradition was to have a bean and a pea hidden in a Twelfth Night cake; the "man who finds the bean in his piece of cake becomes king for the night while the lady who finds a pea in her piece of cake becomes queen for the night." Following this selection, Twelfth Night parties would continue and include the singing of Christmas carols, as well as feasting.

Food and drink are central to modern celebrations, and many of the more traditional ones date back centuries. Punch called wassail is drunk particularly on Twelfth Night and during the Christmas period, particularly in the UK, and door-to-door carol singing (similar to carol singing) was common until the 1950s. 

Throughout the world, special pastries, such as tortell and king cake, are baked on Twelfth Night and eaten the following day for Epiphany celebrations. In English and French custom, the Twelfth Cake was baked to contain a fava bean and a pea, so that those who received the slices containing them were to be designated king and queen, respectively, of the night's festivities.

In parts of Kent there is a tradition that an edible decoration would be the last part of Christmas to be removed on Twelfth Night and shared among the family.

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London has had a tradition of providing a Twelfth Night cake since 1795. Robert Baddeley's will left a bequest of £100 to provide cake and punch to the company in residence at the theatre each year on 6 January. The tradition continues to this day.

In Ireland, it is still traditional to place the statues of the Three Wise Men in the nativity scene on Twelfth Night or, at the latest, the next day, Little Christmas.

In colonial America, a Christmas wreath was always placed on the front door of every home, and when it was removed at the end of the twelve days of Christmas, all edible portions were consumed with the other foods of the holiday. The same was true in the 19th and 20th centuries with fruit adorning Christmas trees. Fresh fruit was hard to come by and was therefore considered a fine and appropriate gift and decoration for the tree, wreaths, and home. Again, the tree would be cut down on Twelfth Night, and these fruits, along with the nuts and other local produce used, would then be consumed.

Modern American Carnival traditions shine brightest in New Orleans. In the mid-20th century, friends gathered for weekly king cake parties. Whoever got the piece with the "king," usually in the form of a miniature doll (a symbol of the Christ the King), hosted the following week's party.

Traditionally, it was a bean for the king and a pea for the queen. Celebrations centered around king cakes are no longer common, and today, king cake is usually brought to the workplace or served at parties, with the recipient of the plastic baby obligated to bring the next king cake to the next function. In some countries, Twelfth Night and Epiphany mark the beginning of the Carnival season, which lasts until Mardi Gras.

In Spain, Twelfth Night is called Cabalgata de Reyes (“Parade of the Kings”), and historically, the “kings” would go through the towns and hand out candy.

In France, the Gateau des Rois is eaten all month long. The cakes vary depending on the region; in the north of France, it is called a galette and is filled with frangipane, fruit or chocolate. In the south, it is more of a brioche with candied fruit.

In some places, particularly in the South West of England, Old Twelfth Night is still celebrated on 17 January. This continues the custom of the Apple Wassail on the date which was 6 January in the Julian calendar at the time of the calendar change enacted by the Calendar Act of 1750.