How Christmas Became Just One Day

Christmas comes but once a year, and every year, I remind family and friends that when it does, it’s not just for one day. Christmas is a season that begins by commemorating the nativity of Christ and ends by marking the visit of the Magi on January 5. This season, known as Christmastide, was once a procession of feasts, religious services, and communal gatherings. But alas, no more.

Folks forget this, yet they already know it’s true — and it’s easy enough to remind them simply by singing the opening line of a classic song, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….” Or by citing Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” the title of which refers to the last day of Christmas. So how did we go from such a wealth of holiday cheer to a single day?