I am beginning to love it too, since it means we leave our Christmas tree up until Jan. 6th! No after holiday depression for me. Leaving the tree up longer helps me ease back into the normal routine.
I am thinking now, that I may not be the best one to write this post, since I'm not the true fanatic in the house. I however, have blog access and took the pictures, so what information I have on the holiday will have to do.
Here is what I know about the history of Epiphany. It is often called 3 kings day, and is the day that the "Church" celebrates the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. Some families even give gifts on this day, instead of Dec. 25th. The 12 days of Christmas song actually dates back to the days when Christians still had to guard their beliefs and were not allowed to truly celebrate in public. The 12 days of Christmas begin on our Christmas day - Dec. 25th and end on day "12" on our Jan. 6th. It is believed that in the 1600's, Christians created this song to celebrate their beliefs with almost a secret "spy-like" code (my term, not Tim's) ...to remember their teachings, since they were persecuted so strongly for passing on their faith.
I thank God, that for my Christmas celebration today, I can sing to my hearts content any worship song I like, display Jesus on my front lawn, hang stockings and ornaments, bake sweets, fellowship with friends, exchange gifts, drink cider.....anything I want to celebrate Christmas. ANYTHING...I can do that is related to ANY part of the Christmas holiday celebration, is a gift. The tiniest piece of Christmas candy, the warmest cup of cocoa, the rush of excitement on Christmas Eve, all remind me of my gift of freedom to display my joy about my faith. I can celebrate my Lord and Savior's birth. I can truly Go Tell it on the Mountain...that Jesus Christ is Born!!! This season is my favorite, and I rush into it, linger there, and slowly come out of it again. Whether commercialized or not, I relish in the fact that I can publicly declare from the mountain top or from the middle of the toy aisle at Target that I am celebrating My Lord's Birthday. Seriously, no one celebrates my Birthday on such a grand scale. No one celebrates any of my children's birthdays - but close family and friends. Almost everyone in America....in some way or another...whether they acknowledge the truth behind the holiday or not.....celebrates God Almighty's Birth day----and the gift of his Son!!! I Love Christmas!
Epiphany not only draws out this favorite event that I celebrate every year...but also reminds me that there were times, and are places when/where others like me were/are not allowed to celebrate. The 12 Days of Christmas may seem like a long and silly song, and although the origin of the daily representation of church teachings is not fully known, Christians for many centuries, have used this song to celebrate their own beliefs and explain their faith.
Here is a brief explanation of what each day of the song represents:
A partridge in a pear tree: The Birth of Christ in the Manger...or some say...Christ on the Tree
2 turtle doves: The Old and New Testaments
3 french hens: Faith, Hope and Love
4 calling birds: the four gospels ---Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
5 golden rings: the Pentateuch ---the 5 first books of the Bible that Moses wrote
6 geese a laying: the 6 days of creation
7 swans a swimming: 7 spiritual gifts --Rom. 12:5-7
8 maids a milking: 8 beatitudes
9 ladies dancing: the fruits of the spirit
10 lords a-leaping: the 10 commandments
11 pipers piping: the 11 faithful disciples (minus the betrayer)
12 drummers drumming: the 12 points of the apostles creed
whew -
Growing up in my house, we had an advent tree that my Mom made for my sister and me, to hang up tiny wooden ornaments on each year. The first Christmas after Tim and I were married, my Mom gave us an advent calendar for our own future family. Our kids have enjoyed hanging up ornaments on it through the years. This year was Nate's first time to join us, and he really liked looking in the pockets and hanging the tiny ornaments as much as his three siblings.
Our Advent Calendar
Nate - on Dec. 1st, with an angel
"oh, that's where it goes"
(it doesn't matter where most ornaments are hung, but the angel goes at the top,
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the 3 highest spots - under the angel)
finished with the calendar on Christmas Eve
Years ago, I made an Epiphany calendar for Tim at Christmas, based on the design of my Mom's advent calendar. There are 12 pockets with ornaments. Each ornament symbolizes the correct faith teaching - remembered on that day.
Again....a great way to extend Christmas. The advent calendar comes down, and the Epiphany calendar goes up...and we keep on celebrating.
Tim prefers certain traditions for Epiphany. In our front yard, we have a nativity set with Mary, Joseph and Jesus. This is in the center of our yard at the front of our house. We also have 3 wise men. These 3 wise men stay far away....at the back corner of our yard until Christmas day. Slowly...each day from Dec. 25th - Jan. 6th, the wise men move up toward the Christ Child. The 5th of December they circle around him and are part of the original display for the 6th! Children in our neighborhood have commented that they love to see the wise men on the move!!! Tim would really LOVE a toddler Jesus to replace the infant in the manger for this day, but I can't seem to find one of those.
Inside, I have a beautiful hand carved/painted nativity in my house, and the wise men (since I married Tim....((smiley face)).....) have always been kept separate. On epiphany, the kids each take a wise man and march him over to the manger. We also have a camel that we display with the wise men. Tim and I purchased the camel in Israel before our kids were born. Nate proudly marched the camel this year.
Nate - with the camel
Jordyn with her wise man Holly ready to march
Caleb chose the wise man with Gold
The Wise Men are ready to greet Jesus
For our Epiphany celebration, we also give one gift to someone in the family. We draw names each year. These are always little tiny gifts to fit in the shiny gold/silver/metallic bags (which I believe were made for wine bottles--shhh), but I loved them, since they looked regal to me!!
Caleb drew Jordyn's name-here she is opening his gift to her.
Holly received a Starbucks gift card for steamers and cider from Jordyn
Nate gave Caleb some Playmobile knights
This year, I found "crackers" on sale after Christmas. They were decorated with the 12 days of Christmas, so I bought a package and surprised Tim with them after the presents were opened.
Crackers originated in England and hold paper crowns, jokes or sayings, and a tiny toy in each one. They are meant to be pulled with a friend. I had never heard of these until my sister married a man with English heritage and they are a part of their families' celebrations every year. So now, when we celebrate with them ---we all enjoy crackers at our table.
We all picked numbers and Tim received the 9 ladies dancing and 12 drummers drumming.
Caleb - with his 5 golden rings
Jordyn - with 6 geese a laying
Holly - with A partridge in a pear tree
my little "lord - a - leaping" was too cute - I had to take his picture!
Nate had opened crackers with his cousins at Christmas - and he definitely remembered what to do!!
he put on the crown right away - with Holly's help
His toy---was a pair of pretend lips to hold in his mouth -
we were unsure if he'd figure out what to do with them......
we were unsure if he'd figure out what to do with them......
but he did!!!!
we laughed so hard!!
here is another one - minus the hat - hilarious!
Jordyn posed with her toy...a pretend mustache!
What a fun way to extend Christmas - have another party - enjoy the holiday season more - remind ourselves to be grateful that we can celebrate - to remember what we believe - and to honor church tradition. Merry Epiphany everyone!!!
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