CHRISTMASTIDE is the 12 days from Christmas Day (December 25) to day before the Season of Epiphany starts (January 5).

“The liturgical day actually starts at sundown the night before a feast or fast. The Christmas Eve Eucharist is actually the first worship service of Christmas. The emphasis is usually on the story of the birth of Christ and the church is [decorated with green and red]. Because carols are not sung during Advent, we sing them Christmas Eve.”

While the Christmas carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas” has not been proven that it was written to help Christians learn and pass on the tenets of their faith while avoiding persecution. It is nonetheless a fun carol to learn and sing each year around this time.

THREE FRENCH HENS = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues

• On the Second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . Two turtle doves (refer to the Old and the New Testaments)
• On the First day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . A partridge is a pear tree (refers to Jesus Christ on the Cross)

December 27: The Feast of St. John

• John, Apostle and Evangelist (this Holy Day is observed on December 27)

St. John was the “beloved disciple.”  He was basically Jesus’ best friend. He wrote the Gospel of John, which focused on the theology of the incarnation and the person of Jesus Christ.  John focused on the light of Christ coming into a dark world. This focus is appropriate during the Christmas season, as a reminder that God is light, and that in Jesus we see the world as it is, and also catch a glimpse of how he is redeeming it.

“The first Sunday after Christmas is focused more on the theology of the Incarnation and the dual nature of Christ. John 1 is read. This reading helps us to see that the Incarnation and dual natures of Christ are not dry theology. They are the very light of God poured into our lives. The Word was made flesh, and it changed the world. There is no other God like our God, who came to live among us. There is no other story like this story, and it has radically transformed our world.”

Source: https://anglicancompass.com/the-12-days-of-christmas-guide-to-christmastide/; https://www.vox.com/21796404/12-days-of-christmas-explained