The Twelve Days of Christmas

About this plan

Christmas does not end on 26 December. In the church’s calendar the Twelve Days run from Christmas Day to 5 January, the eve of Epiphany, and this plan gives each day its own short reading so the season lasts as long as the calendar says it should.

On Christmas Day you read Luke 2, the birth in Bethlehem, and John 1, the Word who became flesh. The days that follow reflect on who the child is, in Hebrews 1, Colossians 1 and 1 John 1, and on what his coming means, in Titus, Galatians and Ephesians. The turn of the year brings Psalm 90 and Ecclesiastes 3. On 1 January, the eighth day, when Luke says he was named, you read the blessing of Numbers 6 and Philippians 2. On 5 January, the star and the wise men in Matthew 2 are paired with Isaiah 60, nations coming to the light.

The plan follows the Western calendar. If your church keeps Christmas on 7 January, you can read the same twelve days from then.

What you’ll read

• The birth and the Word25 DecemberLuke 2, John 1
• The image of the invisible God29 DecemberColossians 1, 1 John 1
• The turn of the year31 DecemberPsalm 90, Ecclesiastes 3
• The blessing and the Name1 JanuaryNumbers 6, Philippians 2
• The star and the wise men5 JanuaryIsaiah 60, Matthew 2

24 chapters · 15 books · every Christmas

This plan follows the church year: it begins on Christmas Day and ends on 5 January, the twelfth day of Christmas.