In the past were there gifts on the days leading up to Christmas instead of them all being on the one day?

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The twelve days of Christmas were after it, not before it. Specifically, the carol comes from northern England, but is based on an ancient Scottish tradition called Da latha dheug na Nollaig. The twelve days are from Christmas to the Day of the Ephiphany. The Golden Bough by James Frazer has a long article on it.

In Scotland the twelve days of the Yule festival were celebrated according to the traditions of the viking invaders and they had the custom of giving gifts on all twelve days. You can find a long rundown of these and similar customs in Keary's book "Outline of Primitive Beliefs" (1882).

The use of the advent calendar and associated mini-gifts before Christmas is a modern phenomenon (19th century).

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