17th of January - Old Twelfth Night
17th of January is the 17th day of the year
Old Twelfth Night:
In September 1752 Britain moved to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian. With a reluctance to accept directives from Europe not unknown still today we were rather behind most of our neighbours in doing so, Pope Gregory XIII having brought in the measure in 1582. We leapt from September 2 to September 14, ‘losing’ 12 days. With typical obduracy some Britons wished to have certain events celebrated on the day on which they would normally have been celebrated, ignoring the changed calendar. Twelfth Night, celebrated on January 5, was and still is for some marked on January 17. Several wassail customs around the country for example occur on that Old Twelfth Night. Not that ‘New’ Twelfth Night went without merriment after the change took place – so 12 days lost, and by doubling up a lot of extra folk traditions (drinking and, with Wassailing, spilling) gained.
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