A RECENT article in a national newspaper drew attention to three major religious festivals that are celebrated in this country and in the wider Christian world.

They were named as Christmas, the Epiphany and Easter. This prompted a friend to ask – “So what happened at the Epiphany and how is it celebrated?”

It might be explained by its alternative name of Twelfth Night, this being made popular by William Shakespeare.

He wrote his comedy titled Twelfth Night in the hope it would provide family entertainment on Twelfth Night which is, as many of us know, the twelfth night after Christmas, also known as The Epiphany.

The word means an appearance or manifestation because it was the twelfth day after the Birth of Christ and the time his birth was revealed to the world by the visit of the Three Wise Kings.

For centuries, this has been celebrated around the world and is widely regarded as the most festive of the 12 days of Christmas.

Here in the north of England, it was an apple wassailing day with feasting and partying in the orchards, all done to ensure a good crop in the autumn.

A further belief in the north was that an east wind on this day heralded full baskets of fruit in the autumn, but it was also the day that our Christmas decorations were taken down until next year.

If we forgot, it was believed bad luck would follow.

One curious celebration occurred at Brough in what was then in Westmorland, but not far from the Yorkshire border. A holly branch was set alight and carried through the town.

As it blazed, youths would try to grab the burning twig and carry it to the nearest pub. The successful ones were rewarded with free beer and it seems a good time was had by all. The purpose and origins of this game have been lost or so we are told.

Preparations and practice for Twelfth Night events took place the previous day, known as the Eve of The Epiphany or Old Christmas Eve. In some places, celebratory bonfires were lit.

It is interesting to look at the following days in January because the month does seem rich with celebrations, many having Christian origins as they celebrate the life of a particular saint. Sometimes that saint is the patron of the local church.

Having said that, St Distaff’s Day (January 7) does not celebrate the life of a saint because there is none called Distaff. It is a jocular name given to a distaff which is a cleft stick used by spinners to hold the yarn or flax.

This method of spinning yarn was introduced to this country in 1505 and the fictitious name was given to January 7 because it was the day spinners returned to work after their Christmas break.

St Hilary’s feast day follows on January 13, this day often being regarded as the coldest in the year, especially in Yorkshire. St Hilary was made a Doctor of the Church in 1851 and has given his name to the Hilary Term for universities and the legal profession.

January 20 is St Agnes’s Eve when Yorkshire lasses would use all manner of charms to try and learn the identity of their future husband.

One ritual was held at St Cedd’s Well at Lastingham deep in the moors when maidens washed their garters to show they would remain pure until meeting their true love.

At Rosedale, a maid seeking a husband had to visit the churchyard at midnight, select a blade of grass from a bachelor’s grave, then walk backwards to bed - to dream of her future husband.

St Agnes’ Day, January 21 is also Sheep Blessing Day when it is traditional to take a lamb into church for a symbolic blessing for all sheep.

In some areas, entire flocks are blessed in the fields or on the moors, and quite often an image of St Agnes accompanied the blessing. It may be a statute or perhaps an embroidered image on a banner.

The lamb is a symbol of the innocence of St Agnes but nowadays, these celebrations take place on the Sunday nearest St Agnes’ Day.

To complete a month of such celebrations, St Vincent’s Day is honoured on January 22 when Yorkshire folk would look at the weather and say, “If the sun shines on St Vincent’s Day, there’ll be much wind.”

And finally, January 25 is the feast of the Conversion of St Paul. It commemorates the religious conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus and a Yorkshire saying was “If St Paul’s be fair and clear, it doth betide a happy year.” But these celebrations have been over-shadowed by Burns’ Night which honours the Scots poet.