Twelfth day
- noun
:
Día de Reyes
- The church held a special service to celebrate the Twelfth day of Christmas.
Examples
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Children acted out the story of the wise men on the Twelfth day pageant.
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Many people take down their Christmas decorations on the Twelfth day.
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Many people celebrate the Twelfth day with great joy.
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What traditions do you have for the Twelfth day?
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Many families celebrate the Twelfth day with special meals and traditions passed down through generations.
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On the Twelfth day, churches often hold services to honor the arrival of the three wise men.
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During the Twelfth day festivities, children eagerly await the exchange of gifts that symbolize the Magi's offerings.
Synonyms
1
7.2
A Christian festival on January 6 that celebrates the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus
1
1.4
A Christian festival marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus
A Christian festival twelve days after Christmas to remember the visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus
A Christian holiday twelve days after Christmas that remembers the visit of three wise men to baby Jesus
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally clear: knowing 'twelfth' and 'day' lets a learner infer it refers to the twelfth day in a sequence (here, after Christmas). However, the specific cultural/religious meaning (Epiphany / the visit of the Magi) is not predictable from the constituents and requires background knowledge, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
Twelfth day comes from being the twelfth day after Christmas, the day when Christians remember the 'visit of the three wise men' to the baby Jesus. That's why Twelfth day is used for the small holiday or church service that marks that event and for things like pageants or taking down decorations.