Jan 5 - Twelfth Night

The fifth of January is the twelfth day of Christmas and so today we look at the rich tradition of Twelfth Night. In Spain, Twelfth Night is often referred to as the Parade of Kings and historically the "kings" would go through towns and hand out sweets to children. Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, was written to be performed as a Twelfth-Night entertainment. The play has many elements that are reversed such as a woman Viola dressing as a man, and a servant Malvolio imagining that he can become a nobleman. A superstition in some English-speaking countries suggests it unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, and in many Catholic countries the tradition is to have one's house blessed, too.

Where did the idea of marking Christmas as a 12 day holiday come from?

.... you'll have to listen to find out....