stevev@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Vegdahl) (12/13/83)
The 12 days of Christmas refer to the days during the religious Christmas season, which begins on 25 December and runs until the Epiphany season begins (6 January). Although Christ's birth is celebrated on 25 December and the coming of the magi (or wise men) on 6 January, no one is sure of the dates of either of these. My understanding of the consensus of historians is that the magi most likely arrived in Bethlehem more than a year after the birth of Christ (the Orient Express not having begun service at that time). Mary and Joseph would have, of course, moved out of the stable and into a house (or whatever) by then. It is thus likely that scenes depicting the magi visiting the baby Jesus while he is lying in a manger are not realistic. Steve