What is Old Christmas Day? An N.L. history enthusiast explains

This archival illustration depicts mummering in St. John's. Old Christmas Day is typically considered the end of mummering for the season, according to Robert Hiscock. (The Rooms Provincial Archives)

For many people in Newfoundland and Labrador, Jan. 6 — or Old Christmas Day — is the end of the holiday season.

As Robert Hiscock explains, it's all based on an old calendar error. He's the writer behind a blog called Product of Newfoundland.

"It's called Old Christmas Day because once upon a time we followed a different calendar, and that calendar was wrong," Hiscock told CBC News.

In 1752, the British empire's calendar was reorganized in recognition of when Easter was supposed to happen. While the celebration of Easter coincides with the first full moon on or after the March equinox, the Julian calendar had an inaccuracy that meant the date of the equinox had drifted about 11 days away from when it should have been. With the realization that the dates would continue to drift and get further from where they should be, the current Gregorian calendar was eventually adopted by the British.

"By the time all that was realized and all those minutes were added up, they had to fix the calendar and they had to skip a bunch of days," Hiscock said.

"So Christmas moved that year. But some people didn't like the idea of moving Christmas and they continued to celebrate it on the original day or what they've come to call Old Christmas Day."

Jan. 6tis also the date of the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the visit of the Magi and the baptism of Jesus. The date is also be known as Twelfth Night, the last night of the 12 days of Christmas.

Hiscock said different parts of the province honour different traditions for Old Christmas Day, but there was one rule that generally held true across regions.

Every Jan. 6, families in Nain celebrate Nalujuk Night, when eerie figures in tattered fur clothing arrive to reward the good and punish the bad. This photo is a still from a short film called Nalujuk Night, directed by Jennifer Williams. (Courtesy SJIWFF)

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"It's the end of mummering," Hiscock said. "People didn't normally mummer after Old Christmas Day.

Another interesting tidbit is the concept of the "12 buns."

"People would bake sweet rolls and take them door to door and they would visit until they'd given away all 12 of them," said Hiscock.

"People also in different parts of the island used to bake 12th cake as well. They would get together and have a baking party where each person would bring a different ingredient and bake the cake. And when the cake was baked, they'd share it."

A lot of the traditions go back to the old idea of 12th night, rather than it being Old Christmas Day.

In Labrador, Jan. 6 is celebrated as Nalujuk Night in Inuit communities. Scary figures known as the Nalujuit chase children and reward them if they've been good.

Hiscock said some still follow Old Christmas Day traditions, albeit in a different manner than before.

"I often hear people talk about it being unlucky to leave your Christmas decorations up past Old Christmas Day," he said.

"People are aware that Jan. 6 is still sort of a cut off day for Christmas. So I think a lot of people still know about it, but they're probably not baking cakes and sharing them door to door anymore."

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