The Forgotten Holiday Called 'Old Christmas' [5:57]

YouTube ^ | November 26, 2025 | KET - Kentucky Educational Television

[SunkenCiv]

Because of the shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s, Christmas ended up being celebrated 11 days earlier than before. When the change reached America in the 1750s, some people continued to observe December 25 as sacred and also marked January 6 as “Old Christmas.” This tradition held on strongly in Appalachia and remained part of Kentucky's holiday heritage as a parallel celebration alongside the newer Christmas date. 

The Forgotten Holiday Called 'Old Christmas' | 5:57 
KET - Kentucky Educational Television | 44K subscribers | 47,374 views | November 26, 2025

[SunkenCiv]

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• The Change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar
• The 1752 Calendar Change

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[SunkenCiv]

[cherry]

We left our tree up to “Russian Christmas” or the Ephiphany also known as 12th night....we still do..

[irishjuggler]

It’s pretty crazy how England stuck to the Julian calendar for like 170 years after it was obvious to every astronomer who knew his head from his rear end that it was off the mark. Queen Elizabeth and her scientific advisors supposedly wanted to go along with the Gregorian calendar in 1582, but the “Church of England” cried foul... on the theory that it would look like they were obeying the pope... and they bloody well couldn’t have that, could they? So the matter was quietly shelved for a century and half.

[Katya]

Have also always celebrated orthodox christmas or Three Kings day! I place a gold coin in a cake, and whoever gets the slice is named King of the Year!

[Tennessee Nana]

Three Kings Day

[Adder]

That was a fantastic video. Note that Eastern Orthodox still celebrate Christmas on Jan 6th...we called it Russian Christmas.

Also from those same folks in KY was a video about the Warrior Path, an ancient path from the Gulf of America to the Great Lakes, with a nicely documented portion thru KY. It was used by mammoths and other ancient fauna way before humans.

Stuff like that doesn’t cure cancer buts its pretty neat...

[skr]

I celebrate the 25th as Christmas Day and the 6th as when the Wise Men found Him. I don’t know any of the traditions of Epiphany; for me, it’s an extension of celebrating His arrival in this world to be with us. The Wise Men did not come on Jesus’ natal day; it was apparently up to 2 years afterwards, which is why Herod had all the children up to 2 years of age slaughtered. The shepherds were the first to visit and worship Him soon after He was born.

[NFHale]

Thank you for this.

My mother kept to January 6 for three Kings day…

Merry Christmas friend

[MayflowerMadam]

Three Kings Day. I never heard of that before.

Why do people think there were THREE wise men? It’s “men”, so it’s plural, but there could have been as few as two or as many as hundreds. (There were three gifts.)

And the names ... There are no names given in Scripture. They’ve been made up, so names are just tradition.

They’re in nativity scenes, but they came long after Jesus’ birth. (Probably about two years later.) To His “house”, not manger. To see the “child”, not baby.

Tradition. Much like Adam and Eve’s “Apple”.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[ViLaLuz]

My family celebrates through the 12 days culminating on Kings Day on Jan. 6. Why limit the season to 24 hours?

[Tennessee Nana]

For the 3 gifts gold myrrh and frankincense

BTW today is my birthday so I’m Christmas shopping all day

77 today

😁😁😁

[MayflowerMadam]

I’ve been 77 since October. YIKES! I can’t be that old!

[Sirius Lee]

Bring back Michaelmas. That September holy day is a party!

[Fiji Hill]

Three Kings Day is observed by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The Kings River in California got its name from Spanish explorers, who in 1806 camped beside it on Epiphany, so they named it the River of the Holy Kings. The river also gave its name to Kings County, Calif. through which it flows.

[Justa]

It’s not forgotten, it’s suppressed by anti-Christian bigots.

[telescope115]

I’m wishing you a Happy Birthday today! My mom’s birthday as well, but she left us back in 1986.
I am thinking of her today….

[telescope115]

I have not heard of Old Christmas before this. For me this adds another layer of history and tradition onto the Christmas season. Wonderful! Thanks for posting this!

[Glad2bnuts]

Why is Christmas celebrated in the Winter, when by all accounts Christ was born around Sept 23rd? It aligned with a Hebrew Holiday, and the stars aligned in the exact manner proscribed.