Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched the anticipation of my children grow as Christmas approaches. Sure, they know the true meaning of Christmas and we’ve read through the story of Jesus’ birth and how the Israelites, too, were anticipating the coming of a savior…for over 400 years! But each new night we light the tree, and count down the sleeps till the big day, the excitement grows and the patience wanes.
If you think about it, we’ve been preparing for this day for weeks, if not months. Even if you’re on Team After-Thanksgiving, there’s been a whole month of shopping, and baking, and wrapping, and Advent calendar chocolate eating. The hustle and bustle of the season has got us run ragged, and unless we stopped to fill up our spiritual tanks, most of us are ready for it to be over.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve listen to my kids excitedly count down the days of school and secretly wrap each others gifts, I can’t help but to catch the wave of excitement with them. Yes, they are pretty stoked about gifts, but what they (and I) are truly looking forward to this week is the celebration. The gathering of friends and family. The reunion of cousins. The games. The songs. The laughter. The togetherness and fellowship. As Christians, we celebrate the birth of Jesus all year long, but we all know it’s not quite like the way we do at Christmas time.
Having grown up in the Catholic church, I am well-versed in Christmas traditions. We attended midnight mass (which was a favorite of mine because I got to stay up late even though I fell asleep during the mass). We set out the manger, lit the candles on the Advent wreath, and we told the Christmas Story. Somewhere along the way from then to now, some traditions were lost and my spiritual dialect had changed. While my faith now focuses more on relationship rather than religion, I find myself missing a lot of the traditions that wove into my memories of Christmases past. And I wonder what kinds of memories my own children will have, and what they will pass on to their children when they look back and see how their own lives and traditions have changed throughout the years.
So this year, I decided to reflect on our existing family traditions, and wondered if maybe we could create some new ones. As I was pondering this, the Twelve Days of Christmas song pranced through the Spotify airwaves, and it got me thinking…. There are twelve days of Christmas? Immediately, I Googled it and found myself down a rabbit hole of mind-blowing (or at least for me) information. Long story, short, YES! There are twelve days of Christmas. They were celebrating way back in the medieval days, and you can find it on the current Liturgical calendar. The twelve days celebrated are from Christmas Day to the day before Epiphany (or Three Kings Day). Different church sects celebrate in different ways. Some have a celebrate certain Saints, or remember specific events on each of the twelve days. Others celebrate with a feast on the Twelfth Night (so they call it that). The next day, Epiphany, recognizes Jesus’ baptism (which we’ll talk about another time) and the day that the three Magi encountered Jesus – and Jesus was introduced to the world!
(On a side note, this is a pretty HUGE deal. If you can imagine, the newborn King of the Jews, prophesied to return the throne to the House of David and to restore the Kingdom of Israel to a position of righteousness, was worshiped by the three Magi? Non-Jewish men, sorcerers if you will, these outsiders travelled far from neighboring lands and countries and were welcomed to visit with Baby Jesus. Things like that didn’t just happen back then! …I’ll just let that sit for a moment.)
It was a good few hours before I emerged from the inter webs, wondering how I could use this wealth of information to create a new tradition with my children. I knew right away we would definitely be celebrating Christmas for twelve days. Why? Well, we all know that one day is never enough for Christmas. In a way, it’s the like the dinner that takes hours to prepare, only to be devoured in minutes. Christmas Day seems to go by way too quickly.
And is it just me, or is the day after Christmas a bit of a let down? Before the last bits of wrapping paper can be cleaned up, we’re already into a new wave of after-Christmas sales, National Returns Day, and we’re rushing to get the gift situation squared away before the new year. The days after Christmas are consumed with cleaning up the house and clearing out closets; playing with new gadgets – a few have broken, and batteries have died; and dealing with the new clothes that have already been outgrown. It’s only a week later when the New Year rushes in. Christmas has become but a faint memory, and parents start counting down to their next celebration: the day the kids go back to school. We’ve already forgotten the weeks long waiting – the anticipation. We’ve forgotten about Jesus.
So this year, I’ve decided that my family will be hanging on to that Christmas spirit a wee bit longer. We will continue to sing Christmas songs and tell the Christmas Story. We’ll imagine what life was like for Jesus in those early years. We’ll talk about how the infant Son of God was being hunted down by a jealous king. We’ll talk about the shepherds, Mary, Joseph. We’ll even talk about the Magi who had no business in Bethlehem other than to see and worship Jesus. We’ll plan fun activities together and continue the celebration, all the while keeping our eyes and hearts fixed on the reason for the season – Jesus.
Because this is the first year we will be doing it, I don’t have all the details fleshed out just yet. But what I do want to do is to invite you on this journey with us! Maybe you’re longing for a new and meaningful tradition too. Or maybe you want a way to continue the excitement of the season just a bit longer. Perhaps this will be a way to bring your family closer together with the little time you have before they’re back to school. Whatever your reason, I’d love for you to join me.
I’m thrilled to be able to offer a free daily email series to you during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Simply fill out the form below, or click here to sign up! In each email you will find a daily scripture and discussion questions, a family activity or recipe, and a link to a family favorite song on YouTube that you and your loved ones can dance or sing along to. (I’m pretty sure we’ll be partridge- and pear tree-free, but I can’t guarantee that!) Also, I’m in the process of creating a Spotify playlist that might help keep your Christmas Dance Parties going. I’m always open to new and wonderful ideas, so if you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments below.
I pray that you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas with your friends, family, and everyone around you. May God’s grace continue to shine upon us as we shine His love through us in everything we say and do. You are loved, dear one, so very much. May that blessing carry you through seasons of sorrow and hurt, as well as through seasons of laughter and joy. May God’s peace be with you. Always.
Twelve Days of Christmas
