Saturday, November 29, 2008

Celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas


Celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas

by Kerry Beck

There are many beliefs and traditions behind the twelve days
of Christmas. Many people are confused as to when this
holiday period is celebrated. Some people believe that the
holiday consists of the 12 days prior to Christmas (part of
Advent). In fact, it actually consists of the 12 days after
Christmas.

Christmastide is another name for this time period. The
celebrations and traditions that take place during this time
period vary slightly. It depends on the denomination of
your church as well as where you live in the world. Each
denomination and culture has different beliefs on how the
time period should be celebrated.

Some cultures and/or denominations consider the twelve days
of Christmas as the time period that consists of Christmas
day, December 25th all the way to the 5th day of January.
Other cultures and/or denominations consider the 12 days to
be the evening of Christmas until the 6th day of January.

The 12 days of Christmas reflects a major component of the
Christmas history. As we know Christmas day represents the
birth date of Jesus Christ. The 12 days of Christmas
represents the time period in which the 3 Kings from the
region of Arabia decided to visit the baby Jesus. Traveling
from their homeland they traveled to Bethlehem to see the
infant. When they arrived, they presented gifts of great
value, gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.

There are various philosophies of when the appropriate time
to give gifts is during this time period. Many people
identify Christmas day as the appropriate time to give
gifts. Others save their gifts until the 12th day of
Christmas. There are also many cultures and denominations
that believe that a gift should be given each day of the 12
days.

This holiday period has a number of different ways that you
can celebrate it. Many people celebrate it by lighting
candles for the 12 days. For example, on each day of the 12
days, they light a candle to represent the progression of
the Christmastide season.

Another tradition that you can use to celebrate is Christmas
dinner. Like gift giving, Christmas dinner is handled
differently as well. It can be done on Christmas day. It
can be done on the 12th day of Christmas. It can even be
done every day of the 12 days.

Then of course you have the 12 days of Christmas song. This
song is the one where the lyrics are "On the first day of
Christmas my true love gave to me" There are many people
who believe that this song actually refers to different
components of the Christian faith, such as the Trinity and
the 4 Gospels of Christ. Other people believe that this is
false and is simply an urban legend.

The twelve days of Christmas is celebrated all over the
world a wide variety of different ways. Regardless of how
you choose to celebrate it, it can be a great opportunity
for you to gather with your family and draw closer together
in the spirit of the holiday season.

Kerry Beck offers (http://www.christmascelebrationideas.com)
free advent calendars with daily Christmas projects to
prepare your family for Christmas. Your family will discover
more about
(http://www.christmascelebrationideas.com/12days.htm)
holiday traditions with some of the daily projects.

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