Twelve days of Christmas done Green style.
Advent is typically thought of as the countdown till Christmas. But actually, traditions of advent have morphed through the years. It began in the fourth century when Christians prepared themselves for baptism. (They were baptized annually) In the Middle Ages, it became associated with the second coming of Christ. Beginning on Nov 11, Christians devoted themselves to prayer and fasting, counting down till what was believed to be the day he was born, December 25th.
The Christmas wreath has its roots in pre-Christian cultures, as with all of our other Christmas traditions the Germans applied it to Christianity in the 16th century. In Greece, the wreath was woven from celery and Olympic athletes were crowned with them as a symbol of strength. And later in Rome, they were woven from different materials representing the status or achievements of politicians and civil servants. They were significant at funerals to represent the circle of eternal life. In many countries, it was woven from stocks of wheat or other things and hung by the door year-round. Until the Lutherans reassigned to it the meaning of unity. In the eighteenth century, a Lutheran monk used a wagon wheel to teach his students about the Christmas advent. He placed twenty red candles in the wreath to be lit on weekdays and four white candles inside them to be lit on each Sunday, counting down to Christmas.
For most of us, the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas is just an annoying earworm. Here in the Green household, until I researched it, we didn’t know the 12 days of Christmas started on Christmas and continued till January sixth. So, we combined the advent and twelve days of Christmas, and we are counting down to Christmas. We open one gift for the whole family and then in the evenings following, we do whatever activities were opened previously. It’s a fun way to spend the holidays together. I keep telling myself this holiday is about peace, but I feel so much stress, about making sure we’ve got the meal planned and the decorations, and sending out Christmas cards. Christmas is about family and memories and spending time together. I spend all the energy and anticipation building up to one day, and then it all goes back in the box till next year. This year we have focused more on the season of Christmas.
So, we must write a new song:
On the first day of Christmas, my true loves gave to me
Truffles, Fondue, and a pot
On the second day of Christmas what was beneath the tree?
Puzzles with pieces a lot
The third day of Christmas
A Sushi making kit.
Aaaaand that’s the end of my songwriting skills! You’ll have to write your own song as you do your own now, six days of Christmas. Let me know how it goes!
