British English Holidays - Twelfth Night

hi everyone i'm gina in the UK the twelfth night refers to the twelfth

night after christmas and falls on the 5th of january in this lesson you're

going to learn why the state is of importance do you know what the

traditional twelfth night drink Wasel is made from will show you the

answer at the end of this video the twelfth night is when christmas

decorations should be taken down if any decorations remain after the fifth of

January then they should be left until next year the superstition is that

taking them down after the twelfth night will bring bad luck upon the house in

the olden days it was believed that spirits lived in the greenery such as

Holly and Ivy that was used to decorate the house this greenery was bought

inside during the mid winter to help the spirits but after the twelfth night it

was time to release them back into the countryside and their natural habitat if

they were not released the spirits would cause havoc in the house now you may be

thinking that twelve days after Christmas is actually the sixth of

January and not the fifth and you would be correct

however in olden days they started at sunset and not at midnight also they

followed night and not vice versa so by modern calendars the 12th day is a

six but to our ancestors it was a fist

twelfth night used to be a day for practical jokes and plays it is believed

that Shakespeare named one of his plays Twelfth Night for this reason and also

it was first performed on the Twelfth Night and now I'll give you the answer

to the earlier quiz do you know what the traditional Twelfth Night drink Wasel is

made from it is a cider based drink seasoned with various spices and

sometimes honey it is especially popular in the south of

England but most apples for cider are grown how was this lesson did you learn

something interesting if you decorate your house in your country do you have

any special ceremonies or traditions for taking down the decorations leave us a

comment at English class 101.com and we'll see you in the next lesson

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