The Twelve Days of Christmas begin at midnight on Christmas Eve and end on the night of January 5th, Epiphany, in the new year.
This is why it's also called the time between the years.
The terms Twelve Days of Christmas and Twelfthide have ancient Celtic roots.
The Celts lived according to the lunar calendar (354 days) and added the missing 11 days and 12 nights in the period after the winter solstice, when the world around them was cold and stormy with long, dark nights.
This was a time to seek warm shelter for inner reflection and peace.
I'm writing this from the southern tip of Africa at the time of the summer solstice in midsummer. Here, the long summer holidays and peak vacation season coincide with Christmas and New Year's. This means that practically the entire country is in summer celebration mode mainly outdoors and in nature. Beautiful. Familiar. Connected. Different.
Does this fit with the rituals and customs of the Twelve Days of Christmas?
Yes, because the summer weather doesn't change these very special days, which signify both endings and new beginnings, with all the energetic implications that entails.
It's the time for reflection … taking stock … envisioning...
Personally, I love the Ritual of the 13 wishes.
It begins with the rather intensive process of identifying, defining, and formulating 13 wishes.
The wishes are not for or about others—but solely about yourself.
Formulate them precisely, as concisely and clearly as possible, and as if they are already a lived reality.
A possible example:
I live exactly where I've always longed to be.
Or:
Twice each week I enjoy my healthy flexible body in ecstatic dancing.
Now write each wish on one of 13 identical sheets of paper, which should be large enough that you can't see the text after rolling or folding them.
All 13 wishes are placed in a container or basket, mixed together so that you cannot tell which wish is which.
Starting on Christmas Eve, each night you draw one wish and burn it unopened (!), entrusting it to the universe.
Continue this until Epiphany, when you burn the 12th wish.
And what about the 13th wish?
Well, now you can open it. Let yourself be surprised!
This wish is your task for this year.
Invest as much energy in its completion as you expect the universe to put into each of your other 12 wishes.
I wish you peaceful and joyful Twelve Days of Christmas between the years!
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