One day is not enough to celebrate the birth of God’s son – the amazing gift of Jesus, aka “Emmanuel” which means “God-with-us.”   One day is just not enough to celebrate, give thanks, and let sink into our hearts the wonder of the gift of God’s presence in Jesus.  So traditionally twelve days were celebrated – a good biblical number which means the complete amount needed, the full amount, the perfect amount, as in the twelve disciples or the twelve tribes of Israel.  So twelve days is the perfect number of days to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

 

Now we all know the old carol about the Twelve Days of Christmas, when the lover gives to the beloved strange though symbolic gifts each day, gifts that become more extravagant each day in order to show the depth of love.  Perhaps that is where all the commercialism of Christmas got started??!!??   HOWEVER, that is not what the Twelve Days of Christmas is about.  It is not about more opportunities to give more gifts.

 

Rather the Twelve Days of Christmas is a spiritual practice of celebration and reflection.  The twelve days run from Christmas Day, December 25th to January 5th, the eve of the celebration of Epiphany on January 6th (when we mark the coming of the wise-ones).

 

In Jesus, God came to reconnect with human beings.  I love the verses of Revelation 21:3 which say, “See the home of God is among mortals.  God will dwell with them and they will be God’s peoples.”  Literally the word translated “dwell” means to “pitch a tent.”   So, in Jesus, God pitches a tent in our backyard.  God comes to us, to reconnect with us.  Therefore the twelve days of Christmas give us the time to reconnect with God, a connection that we can then build on throughout the year.

 

So for the Twelve Days of Christmas, I offer you these ideas:

  1. Print out this pamphlet which guides you through the Twelve Days of Christmas, by offering one word from the birth story in Luke for you to ponder each day.                                                                                                        Twelve Days of Christmas Spiritual Journey (8 1/2 X 14):  Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_brochure.pdf                   Twelve Days of Christmas Spiritual Journey (8 1/2 X 11): Twelve_Days_brochure_2.pdf
  2. As a family, read the Christmas story each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  It can be from the Bible or from a children’s storybook.  You might read just after supper or just before bedtime.  This is a great way to remind everyone what Christmas is really about – JESUS!  After reading the story, you can talk about: which character do you like the best? what do you notice in the story today?  what word popped out for you today?  what do you like best about the story of Jesus’ birth?
  3. Expand your Twelve Days of Christmas by looking at the festivals that other faiths and cultures are celebrating right now.  Did you know that in 2016, the Jewish celebration of Hanukah starts on December 25th?   Check out http://www.bimbam.com/chanukah/ for videos, songs, prayers to help understand what our Jewish neighbours are celebrating.
  4.  AND  The festival of Kwanzaa, a celebration of African-American family, culture and tradition, begins also on December 26th and runs for seven days, ending with the celebration of New Year’s Day. Each day, with the lighting of candles, a different virtue or principle is highlighted: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Go to http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org                                                                                           or http://www.factmonster.com/spot/kwanzaa1.html                                                                       or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kV-6qVp98Q

So I invite you to celebrate Twelve Days of Christmas this year.  Let your heart sink into the wondrous truth that God is with us – we are not alone!  What better gift could we receive (and give) for Christmas this year!

 December 22, 2016                  ©Susan Lukey 2016