The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and last until the evening of the 5th January – also known as Twelfth Night. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and were a time of celebration.
The 12 Days each traditionally celebrate a feast day for a saint and/or have different celebrations:
Day 2 (26th December also known asBoxing Day): St Stephen’s Day. He was the first Christian martyr (someone who dies for their faith). It’s also the day when the Christmas Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas‘ takes place.
Day 3 (27th December): St John the Apostle (One of Jesus’s Disciples and friends)
Day 5 (29th December): St Thomas Becket. He was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century and was murdered on 29th December 1170 for challenging the King’s authority over Church.
Day 6 (30th December): St Egwin of Worcester.
Day 7 (31st December): New Years Eve (known as Hogmanay in Scotland). Pope Sylvester I is traditionally celebrated on this day. He was one of the earliest popes (in the 4th Century). In many central and eastern European countries (including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia) New Years Eve is still sometimes called ‘Silvester’. In the UK, New Years Eve was a traditional day for ‘games’ and sporting competitions. Archery was a very popular sport and during the middle ages it was the law that it had to be practised by all men between ages 17-60 on Sunday after Church! This was so the King had lots of very good archers ready in case he need to go to war!
Day 9 (2nd January): St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, two important 4th century Christians.
Day 10 (3rd January): Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This remembers when Jesus was officially ‘named’ in the Jewish Temple. It’s celebrated by different churches on a wide number of different dates!
Day 11 (4th January): St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the past it also celebrated the feast of Saint Simon Stylites (who lives on a small platform on the top of a pillar for 37 years!).
Day 12 (5th January also known asEpiphanyEve): St. John Neumann who was the first Bishop in American. He lived in the 19th century.
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night was a big time of celebration with people holding large parties. During these parties, often the roles in society were reversed with the servants being served by the rich people. This dated back to medieval and Tudor times when Twelfth Night marked the end of ‘winter’ which had started on 31st October with All Hallows Eve (Halloween).
At the start of Twelfth Night the Twelfth Night cake was eaten. This was a rich cake made with eggs and butter, fruit, nuts and spices. The modernItalian Panettoneis the cake we currently have that’s most like the old Twelfth Night cake.
A dried pea or bean was cooked in the cake. Whoever found it was the Lord (or Lady) of Misrule for night. The Lord of Misrule led the celebrations and was dressed like a King (or Queen). This tradition goes back to the Roman celebrations of Saturnalia. In later times, from about the Georgian period onwards, to make the Twelfth Night ‘gentile’, two tokens were put in the cake (one for a man and one for a women) and whoever found them became the the ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ of the Twelfth Night party.
In English Cathedrals during the middle ages there was the custom of the ‘Boy Bishop’ where a boy from the Cathedral or monastery school was elected as a Bishop on 6th December (St Nicholas Day) and had the authority of a Bishop (except to perform Mass) until 28th December. King Henry VIII banned the practise in 1542 although it came back briefly under Mary I in 1552 but Elizabeth I finally stopped it during her reign.
During Twelfth Night it was traditional for different types of pipes to be played, especially bagpipes. Lots of games were played including ones with eggs. These included tossing an egg between two people moving further apart during each throw – drop it and you lose and passing an egg around on spoons. Another popular game was ‘snapdragon’ where you picked raisins or other dried fruit out of a tray of flaming brandy!
The first monday after Christmas feast has finished was known as ‘Plough Monday’ as this was when farming work would all begin again!
In many parts of the UK, people also wentWassailingon Twelfth Night.
Twelfth Night is also known as Epiphany Eve. In many countries it’s traditional to put the figures of the Wise Men/Three Kings into the Nativity Scene on Epiphany Eve ready to celebrateEpiphanyon the 6th January.
It’s also traditional to take your Christmas decorations down following Twelfth Night.
Twelfth Night is also the name of a famous play written by William Shakespeare. It’s thought it was written in 1601/1602 and was first performed atCandlemasin 1602, although it wasn’t published until 1623.
I’ve seen photos and videos of shelter dogs taking their “Freedom Rides” before. It’s that special moment when a dog gets adopted or is rescued and goes on a car ride to begin his/her new life. But I’ve never seen a dog’s “Freedom Walk” before, but when I watched Benny’s I was smiling from ear to ear.
Benny is around 8 months old, and he had already spent a few weeks at Carson Animal Care Center in Gardena, California, before a family decided to adopt him and take him home. When Benny is first let out of his kennel by his new family, he’s not sure what to do. What’s going on? Which way should he go? He’s trepidatious but excited.
Saving Carson Shelter Dogs shared the video on Facebook and writes:
“This special little guy captured the hearts of everyone who stopped by his kennel. He hit the jackpot when this beautiful family chose to take him home. Thanks for all you SHARING, checkout his FREEDOM WALK filled with lots of jumps and tail wagging! Happy life sweet BENNY.”
Benny flips out from the moment they have a leash on him and they’re heading for the front door. The pup can’t wait to be outta there. Of course, he makes a quick pit stop to sniff the grass and take a tinkle, but then he’s back to excitedly heading off to his new life!
Watch Benny’s joyous “Freedom Walk” and share his joy with your friends!
Fans of the social game “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” would be happy to know that Disney Interactive and Marvel Entertainment has announced a sequel to the first game.Comicbookreports that the “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” will feature enhanced 3D visuals and will soon be up for beta testing in select countries. The sequel will still find gamers in a role-playing game in teams that have to battle against Ultron, Baron Strucker, and other villains.
According to the game’s official website, gamers will have to assemble a team with the Avengers, Daredevil, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and other Marvel superheroes to defeat the bad guys. Furthermore, the heroes have to face a “mysterious series of galactic collisions” known as “Incursions” that threaten the Earth, with the help of the “powerful energy of Iso-8” to prevent the destruction of the world.
“Marvel: Avengers Alliance” was released in March 2012 for Facebook, iOS, Android, and Windows 8. Meanwhile, the sequel will also feature the ability to connect with others via social media, in-app purchases, the option to accept push notifications about exciting news such as fresh content, some advertising for third parties, and advertising for The Walt Disney Family of Companies.
Gamers can already pre-register via the website,marvelavengersalliance2.com.Tech Timesreports that those who pre-register will receive a redemption code for an exclusive Power Cell, which will allow the player to get a randomly-selected “Guardians of the Galaxy” hero to use in the game, including Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax or Groot.
The mission for gamers, if they choose to accept, is the following:
Assemble the ultimate team to defeat notorious Super Villains
Strategize and defeat evil forces in epic 3-on-3 combat
Level up and customize Super Heroes
Collect and equip unique abilities for each Super Hero
Take on dozens of replayable missions
Win bonus rewards for completing Daily Operations
Get powerful rewards in PVP tournaments
Team up with friends’ Super Heroes to conquer missions
“Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2” is created by Marvel andDisney Interactive, the digital entertainment part of The Walt Disney Company, whose other products include “Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon”, “Star Wars™: Commander”, “Big Hero 6 Bot Fight”, “Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions”, “Inside Out Thought Bubbles”, “Star Wars: Assault Team”, “Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics”, and more. Disney Interactive “produces interactive entertainment for the whole family including multi-platform video games, online short form video, mobile and social games and digital destinations across all current and emerging media platforms.”
Disney Interactive was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Glendale California. Disney Interactive President Jimmy Pitaro claims, “Our mission is to create experiences with Disney at their hearts and interactive at their cores.”
For more information, log on to disneyinteractive.com.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s never fashionable forsuperheroesto keep wearing the same costumes in every movie. If they want to keep in style, they need to make adjustments, big or small, with each new adventure, andCaptain America: Civil Warwon’t be any exception. Most of the participants in next year’s conflict will be rocking new or altered threads, includingHawkeyeand Scarlet Witch, and thanks to a behind-the-scenes photo, we have a great look at what Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are wearing for the 2016 blockbuster.
Renner posted this snapshot onWhoSayof him dressed like Hawkeye and taking aim at something (that photographer might want to take a couple more steps away) while Olsen looks on in her Scarlet Witch costume. Compared to a more drastic costume shift like Steve Rogers’ uniforms inCaptain America: The First AvengerandThe Avengers, the differences in what these two are wearing are more subtle, but still worth pointing out.
Although we caught quick glimpses of him in theCaptain America: Civil Wartrailer, this is our best look at Hawkeye’s new costume so far. Clint Barton went for a darker shade of purple for his fourth big screen outing, and rather than wear two sleeves or no sleeves, he’s opted to keep one of his arms covered and the other one exposed. While theconcept artreleased over the summer made it seem like Hawkeye would be wearing something more faithful to what his comic book counterpart wears, it looks like he decided to keep things more low key, which is probably for the best if he doesn’t want to attract attention.
InScarlet Witch’s case, Elizabeth Olsen wore regular clothes for most ofAvengers: Age of Ultron, but debuted an official new costume at the end of the movie following her induction into the New Avengers. HerCivil Waroutfit mostly looks the same, aside from some minor design changes (like longer coat tails), but it does appear that she’s wearing a brighter shade of red this time around. However, in the few seconds we see her in the trailer, her costume looks more crimson than red, so either this is just a lighting issue in Jeremy Renner’s picture or Wanda will don a brighter costume sometime during the movie.
Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch didn’t get off to a great start inAvengers: Age of Ultron, which was perfectly exemplified when the archer shocked her with one of his arrows to prevent her from playing with his mind. Their relationship changed when she and Quicksilver switched sides, and during Ultron’s attack on Sokovia, Clint inspired Wanda to overcome her fears and become one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Following theSokovia Accordsbeing passed inCaptain America: Civil War, the two will be working together as members of Team Captain America. While Hawkeye will be showing off his archery skills as usual, Scarlet Witch will be utilizing her powers in new ways, like propelling herself into the air.
Fans will see these two in action wearing their new duds whenCaptain America: Civil Waris released on May 6, 2016.
We saw him died during Avengers: Age of Ultron when he tried to protect Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and a child from the devastating gunshot. But in the upcoming X-Men movie, the ninth installment for the X-Men series, Quicksilver’s back, and running faster than ever!
“It’s the biggest X-Men film. It’s about the apocalypse, so the scope of the film is huge,”Evan Peters toldDetails.com, who will reprise his role as Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson portrays the role in the Avengers movie).
Peters, who also plays different roles in TV series American Horror Story, was asked whether the latest X-men film can be characterized as a zombie apocalypse movie as well (the current TV show trend),“Ha! No, it’s not. Although that would be amazing if Apocalypse [the evil mutant] brought back the dead to help him take over the earth. I love zombies; I can’t get enough.”
But he goes on to tell what his goal will be come X-Men: Apocalypse and how he managed to get on board X-Men’s goal to save the world,“the story is that my character is searching for his father and wants to find him. It starts there and then he jumps on the X-Men train and gets sucked up in this whole Apocalypse madness: He tries to stop him from destroying the world.”
X-Men: Apocalypse Official Synopsis
Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshiped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible.
Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign.
As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled to hit the cinemas May 27, 2016.
![‘Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2’ Release Date, Mobile Game, Download & Updates: Disney, Marvel Interactive Tease Official Trailer; Xbox 360, Beta Launch To Be Unveiled Soon? [RUMORS]](https://www.stonemarshall.com/wp-content/uploads/world-premiere-of-marvels-avengers-age-of-ultron-red-carpet.jpg)
![Wassailing apple trees on Twelfth Night in Maplehurst, West Sussex, UK by Glyn Baker [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATwelfth_Night_Tradition_-_geograph.org.uk_-_102515.jpg){kind=link}