When we were growing up Mom insisted that the tree and decorations stay up until “Little Christmas”. “The twelve days of Christmas don’t end on December 25th . . . They BEGIN on December 25th”, she always said.

Irish Christmas traditions draw to a close on January 6. The 12 days of the Irish Christmas season mark the twelve days between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the “Three Wise Men”, the Magi. January 6 is the day of the feast of the Epiphany. It is called “Little Christmas” in Ireland, Nollaig Bheag in Gaelic.