Abstract
Europe's Reformations made a particular point of attacking the cult of saints as divine intercessors. Thus it is not surprising that during the most radical of the Tudor Reformations, under Edward VI, the Parliament of England retained the holy days of Christmas, Circumcision (New Year), and Epiphany, in Christ's honour, that of St John the Evangelist, and also those of St Stephen and the Holy Innocents, both of which could be held to have scriptural warrant. The traditional structure of the Twelve Days was thus preserved, and this was confirmed by the Reformation of Elizabeth 1559–60. Until this point, observation of Christmastide had been almost identical for England and Scotland. The practices of the two nations dramatically diverged because the Scots chose to make a clean break with tradition and also with foreign example, to produce a national Kirk that was in this respect the most ‘perfectly reformed’ in Europe.
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