Twelfth Night

Today is the 12^th Day of Christmas.

It's a day that's always bittersweet for me, filled w/ nostalgia & tears as the Christmas Season comes to a close & the decorations are put away.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I remember when I was really young (maybe 4 years old?) & my folks had just put up the tree w/ all the ornaments & lights. I crawled under the tree & laid on my back, looking up. I'll never forget that image, that feeling of being encompassed by the lights, the smell of the pine & never, ever wanting it to end. I could have laid there forever. Perhaps that's one reason why I celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas; if something is good, really good, you just don't it want to end.

Christmas Day was different this year; we had the usual opening of presents & Christmas Dinner but that night we all sat by the fire in my folks living room & sang carols. I looked over at my dad in the darkened room & he was wiping his eyes most of the time. He usually goes to bed around 9 but that night it was almost 10 & he said, “I just don't want this to end...”

I'll never get the people who put their decorations up on Christmas Eve & tear them down on the day after. It's like they're fulfilling some obligation & just going through the motions. It reminds me of Jovie in the movie Elf, “I'm just trying to get through the Holidays...”. I often wonder if that's how they approach everything: their job, family functions, church, communion, etc; just “something to get through...”

The Christmas Season finds me not just focusing on Jesus but re-centering & re-aligning some things for the coming new year; it comes from just why people have celebrated feasts & saints:

The 2^nd Day of Christmas is St. Stephen's Day, the first Christian martyr & I think to myself, “am I really willing to die for my faith like he did?”.

The 5^th Day of Christmas recognizes Thomas Becket. He was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century and was murdered for challenging the King’s authority over the Church. It finds me re-affirming that Jesus is & always will be, the Head of the Church & that He alone is Lord.

The 8^th Day of Christmas finds me reflecting on Mary & though she asked “how can this be?” she still had faith that the word of the Lord would come to pass. When Jesus returns, will He find faith in me?

The 9^th Day of Christmas leaves me inspired by St Basil, who managed to find a bold balance between theology & politics, between the Christian walk & the rat race...

The 10^th Day of Christmas remembers when Jesus was officially 'named' in the Jewish Temple & I remember when I took His name & what all that meant & still means in all I say & do…

And now we come to Twelfth Night, which is traditionally a time of celebration with people holding large parties. During these parties, often the roles in society were reversed with the servants being served by the rich people. It reminds me of when Jesus washed the Disciples feet & when He said in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve...”. Years ago, it was one day out of the year, for us, it's every day of the year.

Tonight, Twelfth Night, will end as Christmas Night ended, w/ carols around the fire & me counting down the days until the Christmas Season is once again upon us. The season may be over but the spirit lives on throughout the year.

Merry Christmas to all & to all, a good night & a good year ahead.