<P> `` Twelfth Night '' is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day , called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany . It was originally a Catholic holiday and therefore , like other Christian feast days , an occasion for revelry . Servants often dressed up as their masters , men as women and so forth . This history of festive ritual and Carnivalesque reversal , based on the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia at the same time of year ( characterized by drunken revelry and inversion of the social order ; masters became slaves for a day , and vice versa ) , is the cultural origin of the play 's gender confusion - driven plot . The actual Elizabethan festival of Twelfth Night would involve the antics of a Lord of Misrule , who before leaving his temporary position of authority , would call for entertainment , songs and mummery ; the play has been regarded as preserving this festive and traditional atmosphere of licensed disorder . This leads to the general inversion of the order of things , most notably gender roles . The embittered and isolated Malvolio can be regarded as an adversary of festive enjoyment and community , led by Sir Toby Belch , `` the vice-regent spokesman for cakes and ale '' and his partner in a comic stock duo , the simple and constantly exploited Sir Andrew Aguecheek . </P>
<P> `` Twelfth Night '' is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day , called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany . It was originally a Catholic holiday and therefore , like other Christian feast days , an occasion for revelry . Servants often dressed up as their masters , men as women and so forth . This history of festive ritual and Carnivalesque reversal , based on the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia at the same time of year ( characterized by drunken revelry and inversion of the social order ; masters became slaves for a day , and vice versa ) , is the cultural origin of the play 's gender confusion - driven plot . The actual Elizabethan festival of Twelfth Night would involve the antics of a Lord of Misrule , who before leaving his temporary position of authority , would call for entertainment , songs and mummery ; the play has been regarded as preserving this festive and traditional atmosphere of licensed disorder . This leads to the general inversion of the order of things , most notably gender roles . The embittered and isolated Malvolio can be regarded as an adversary of festive enjoyment and community , led by Sir Toby Belch , `` the vice-regent spokesman for cakes and ale '' and his partner in a comic stock duo , the simple and constantly exploited Sir Andrew Aguecheek . </P>
where did the name twelfth night come from
where did the name twelfth night come from
the twelfth night after Christmas Day , called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany
the twelfth night after Christmas Day , called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany