Twelfth Night
Preserved but no longer current.
January 5th, the eve of Twelfth Day, or the Feast of the Epiphany, twelve days after Christmas, Jan. 6th. Formerly this was a time of great merrymaking, and the games that took place were, with little doubt, a survival of the old Roman Saturnalia, which was held at the same season. By the Julian calendar Twelfth Day is Old Christmas Day.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Twelfth Night” mean?
January 5th, the eve of Twelfth Day, or the Feast of the Epiphany, twelve days after Christmas, Jan. 6th. Formerly this was a time of great merrymaking, and the games that took place were, with little doubt, a survival of the old Roman Saturnalia, which was held at the same season. By the Julian calendar Twelfth Day is Old Christmas Day.
Is “Twelfth Night” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.