Question: why are there 12 days between christmas and epiphany

title: Twelve Days of Christmas
text: The period between Christmas and Epiphany is fast - free . During this period one celebration leads into another . The Nativity of Christ is a three - day celebration : the formal title of the first day ( i . e . Christmas Eve ) is `` The Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord , God and Saviour Jesus Christ '' , and celebrates not only the Nativity of Jesus , but also the Adoration of the Shepherds of Bethlehem and the arrival of the Magi ; the second day is referred to as the `` Synaxis of the Theotokos '' , and commemorates the role of the Virgin Mary in the Incarnation ; the third day is known as the `` Third Day of the Nativity '' , and is also the feast day of the Protodeacon and Protomartyr Saint Stephen . 29 December is the Orthodox Feast of the Holy Innocents . The Afterfeast of the Nativity ( similar to the Western octave ) continues until 31 December ( that day is known as the Apodosis or `` leave - taking '' of the Nativity ) . Russian