SC - 12th Night and Evening festivals

[Philip & Susan Troy]

> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 05:33:10 -0600
> From: "Mark.S Harris" <rsve60 at email.sps.mot.com>
> Subject: RE: SC - OT - 12th night
> 
> Adamantius said:
> 
> Yes, Twelfth Night is the Twelfth Night of Christmas (when the Twelve
> Drummers Drumming show up, in fact), counting Christmas Eve as the First
> Night. Ancient practice for many cultures seems to work on the theory
> that many festivals start at sundown, not at sunrise. I know the actual
> birth of Christ, for those who adhere to that sort of thing, is
> generally regarded as having occurred at midnight, which might be part
> of the reason. On the other hand, Passover, Hanukkah, and the Chinese
> Lunar New Year celebration (and I expect to be posting our menu for
> THAT, believe me) all begin at sundown on the evening before the first
> day of the festival. Come to think of it, doesn't the book of Genesis
> refer, somewhat formulaically, to such-and-such happening "on the
> evening and the morning of the third day"?
> - -----------
> 
> I don’t think this is quite right. I believe that in the Middle Ages
> and before, the day actually started at what we think of as sundown the
> day before. I think this gradually changed with the greater use of
> mechanical clocks.

Perhaps I'm missing a fine point here, but I believe we just said the
same thing. Unless, of course, you mean that it wasn't the day before,
since the day starts at sundown. In that case, no, you don't agree with
me.

My point was that if the evening of the third day occurs before the
morning, then many festivals seem to begin at sundown rather than
sunrise. On the other hand, considering that the period day seems to be
structured in the form of a given number of hours after sunrise. Dawn
being the beginning of the first hour of the day, through the nones
being the ninth hour, etc. I suspect what is closer to the truth is that
days and nights are regarded as separate entities, but when a span of
days or nights is referred to, the nights and days are included. So, a
fortnight is fourteen days as well. 

But yes, many festivals for several faiths begin at sundown, which is
why Christmas Eve (just as an example) is regarded as a festival day in
its own right. Secular holidays seem to be thought of in terms of
starting at dawn, despite the change in the calendar date occurring at
midnight.

Adamantius

Adamantius
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