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On Twelfth Night

By Catherine Kenda of Stillwater

Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly
Most friendship is feigning, most loving more folly.
Then heigh ho, the holly!
Then life is more jolly!

The lines by William Shakespeare are part of the rich tradition of Christmas revelry which stretches back through the Middle Ages. Although it was originally a religious festival with few, if any, secular overtones, by the time of the tenth century there were many festive customs associated with the holiday.

Many of the traditions we follow today are descended from practices many centuries old. The custom of hanging a branch of mistletoe from doorways as an invitation to lovers to kiss dates back to the Norse myth of Baldur's death. One night, Baldur had a dream that some danger threatened him. When he told his mother, Freya, she decided to protect him. Every thing on Earth - rocks, trees, animals, and so forth - was asked to give a promise that it would not hurt Baldur. Freya overlooked only one plant: the mistletoe. When Loki, who was jealous of Baldur, found this out, he made a dart of the mistletoe and threw it at him. Baldur fell down dead. Loki was punished severely, but Freya refused to blame the mistletoe for her mistake and instead promised that all who passed beneath it would receive a kiss. The ceremonies of the ancient Druids also had a ceremony in which a kiss symbolized the ending of old grievances.

The association between the boar's head and Christmas revelry also goes back to the Norse. Frey, whose symbol was a boar, had dominion over the fertility of the herds. At midwinter a boar would be sacrificed to the god to ensure many new calves and piglets in the spring. Another story concerns a scholar at Oxford in the twelfth century, who was walking in the woods when he was charged by a boar. Lacking any other weapon, he forced the volume of Aristotle he was reading down the beast's throat and choked him to death. He then cut off the boar's head to regain his book and took the head back for the Christmas dinner.

Modern mince pies are another food tradition dating from the same time. A special Christmas pie was baked with spices, raisins, meats, and other delicacies. The spices and sweetmeats were symbolic of the gifts of the Wise Men, and the pie was baked in a rectangular shape to resemble a manger. An image of the Christ Child was placed on top.

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” (“.. and a partridge in a pear tree ... ") which we sing today is a remnant of games played at feasts. A guest would be chosen to start with a line of verse or song: "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….” The next person would come up with another line AND the first line, and so forth. This might continue until one person failed to recite the lines correctly, and was forced to pay a penalty -- often, to kiss every person of the opposite sex at the table.

Whatever the customs of the area, the Christmas season was an occasion for revelry and feasting more than any other time of the year. The Church forbade fighting during the season, and it was a popular time for peace treaties to be signed and for knightings, marriages, and other ceremonies. Our custom of holding a coronation ceremony at this time is ancient, and deserves to be celebrated in fine style. So bring out your revel garb, collect your banners and fine food, and join in the fun and games this Twelfth Night.

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