Since my girls were little, we’ve practiced our version of the twelve days of Christmas. Our version, making a break with tradition, starts twelve days before Christmas. Each day, they find a small gift under the tree. It might be lip gloss, a colorful and cozy pair of socks, a discounted DVD, a scarf. Five bucks or less.
I’m sure we are not alone in feeling the economic pinch that suggests we keep spending to a minimum. fortunately, the season is not, or at least should not, be about the transfer of wealth. Our twelve days of gift giving allow us to experience generosity and joy, unselfishness and sacrifice, anticipation and thankfulness, grace and wonder. All the things that the real Christmas is actually about!
Although I’ve experienced several dozen Christmas seasons, I entered this one as usual, looking forward to the lights and the music and impatient with the commercialism. Many of us mumble positive comments about the babe in the manager, angels, Mary, and the livestock, but is the whole thing really clicking in our minds? Or is it just another mildly supportive holiday with a strange mix of religious tradition and cutesy, secular folklore?
Around the first of December, listing to some music I hadn’t heard for twelve months, I was overwhelmed with the need to make this season real to me in a slightly different way. I am planning to write a new post each day until the 25th to help make that happen for me. I know that God has a journey planned for the next twelve days.
I hope and pray that my experience will be a blessing to you. Please feel free to comment and to share these twelve with anyone.