The Twelve Days of Christmas

You are probably thinking why am I reading about the 12 Days of Christmas this week this should have been posted on December 13? Wrong, The 12 Days of Christmas are actually the days following Christmas running December 26 through January 6. That can’t be right you say? Well, actually January 6 is the traditional celebration of the Epiphany which is when the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to worship the “Newborn King.” And if you remember they came baring gifts for Jesus.

Perhaps this year you could find a way to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas and have it become a tradition in your family. One way is to have the Magi move through your house getting a bit closer to your nativity scene each day and on the 12th day they will arrive at the stable. They could be moved throughout the house, moving from room to room…

Another way, that might be a bit late to do this year but can be kept in mind for future years is to have a small gift for each person to open each night, a candy bar one night, a pack of gum another, (the Dollar Tree would be a good place to shop for these small gifts) and maybe ending with a bigger gift on January 6th. Keep the celebration of Jesus’ birth alive throughout the Christmas season which doesn’t end on December 25th, but actually ends on January 11th when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.

On December 26th we celebrate St. Stephen’s Day which might be a perfect day to sing Christmas Carols especially “Good King Wenceslas,” which is about a saint who fed a poor man on the “feast of Stephen.” In honor of this saint maybe you could remember to bring a donation for the food pantry when you come to church on the weekend of December 27 and 28.

This year on December 28 we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, maybe you could plan a fun family day to just enjoy each other. This is the day we also will remember the “Holy Innocents,” which are the infants that died when King Herod tried to have Jesus killed. Say a prayer for all children this day and thank God for the blessing that they are to our lives.

On New Year’s Eve, you can chase away the old year and welcome in the new year by blowing horns and clanging bells. Then think about having guests for New Year’s Day, remember that a guest in your home is Christ in your home and we surely want to have Christ in our home to celebrate the Christmas season with us.
(from Take Me Home: ©LTP 1991)