12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Traditionally the 12 days of Christmas start either the evening of the 25th or the day of the 26th of December. That makes today the first full day of the 12 days of Christmas. Those days end when we come to what some of us celebrate as Epiphany, January 6th.

Most people are familiar with the song "The 12 Days of Christmas". The exact origin of the song has been debated. Some think it is just a funny literal song about some extravagant yet odd gifts given by a lover, while others feel it is a singing game where a leader sings a verse and the players have to remember all the verses given previously. Still others feel it is a symbolic telling of key Catholic teachings given in a secret code so to speak, when practicing that faith was discouraged in England in the 1600-1700's. No one knows for sure, and opinions keep changing. Another thing that has changed about the song is that the verses have not always been recorded the same throughout the years, and some of the specific items have possibly been changed because the words were misunderstood. An example of this is the 4th day, when we sing "four calling birds", which was originally "four colly birds" meaning blackbirds, and other versions have changed it to "four mockingbirds". Other versions have re-arranged the last 4 days' gifts in various orders. So the words of the song have not been constant. Another fact about the song that is ever changing is the price it would cost to actually give all of those gifts. This has actually been calculated every year since 1984 when the total price for all the items was said to be $12,623.10, whereas in 2010 it is reportedly up to $23,439.00!

However, as we enter the 12 days of Christmas, there are some things that never change. While many things here on earth like the song above are not constant, one thing in life we can be absolutely sure about and trust never to change is God and his love for us.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows." James 1:17 NIV

And what better or more perfect gift can there be but the gift of the Christ-child whose birth we just celebrated! May you be ever blessed by that gift from above, the unchanging "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Is. 9:6)

Written by Jan Andersen