Christmas Season 2024/2025: The Twelfh Day of Christmas & Twelfth Night

 Sunday, January. 5, 2025

Haven't been to church since Advent due to travel and illness. Finally made it during the Christmas season for the Second Sunday of Christmas. Sang lots of good hymns including Once In Royal David's City, Gabriel's Message, What Child Is This, In the Bleak Midwinter, and The First Noel.  Good to be back. 

                        

Dale and I had brunch at The Howe afterward. 

We headed to the grocery store and then home. I had a cigar and Dale went to the gym. 

Listened to music. 

We’re celebrating 12th Night tonight.

We lit lots of candles.

We made a chicken pot pie and it was delicious.

Watched Big Bang Theory and ate gingerbread cookies for dessert. 

Christmas Season 2023/2024 - 12th Day of Christmas: 12th Night

Friday, January 5, 2024

The 12th Day of Christmas - 12 Drummers Drumming

Exhausting day at work. Laid back 12th Night here at home. Got a number of  Christmas decorations and tchotchkes put away. I'd like to have it all packed up by bedtime tomorrow. 

Light dinner of salads but had dessert to celebrate 12th Night.

Read this little book tonight. Very sweet. It reminded me of how much I loved Peanuts as a kid.

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 12th Day of Christmas: Twelfth Night

Wednesday, December 5, 2021

Took the decorations off the tree. Will take the tree down tomorrow. 

Asked Mom to send me a picture of her tree since I haven't seen it yet. 

She also sent me a picture of a cat ornament she made. She says she likes that one the best. 

Mom has placed a St. Nicolas figure outside the door of her apartment. 

Simple dinner of left-over tater tot hot dish. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 12th Day of Christmas: Twelfth Night

 Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Christmas village. 

Christmastide 2020: The 12th Day of Christmas - Twelfth Night

Tuesday, January 5, 2020

Quiet Twelfth Night. 

The Santa I ordered a while ago finally arrived today.

The 3 Kings arrive tomorrow.  Simple dinner of tuna open-faced sandwiches tonight. 

Christmas Season 2017/2018 - 12th Night

Friday, January 5, 2018

Twelfth Night.

Lit a fire in the "fireplace." Dale and I both found it very relaxing.

Athena seemed to like it too.

We sang some Christmas songs with the t.v.

Made cocktails and had a simple dinner of frozen pizza.

And watched Elf.  Will Ferrell is awesome in the lead. I get a kick out of it when Buddy answers the phone and says, "Buddy the Elf. What's your favorite color?"

I didn't realize until this most recent viewing that Peter Billingsley from A Christmas Story plays the head elf at Santa's workshop. Clever casting.

The first time I saw the movie (only a few years ago) I didn't realize it was Zooey Deschanel playing the apple of Buddy's eye. The blonde hair threw me off. It wasn't until she sang Baby It's Cold Outside with her unmistakeable voice that I realized it was her. 

Christmas Season 2016/2017 - Twelfth Night

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Dale and I attended the Twelfth Night celebration at church tonight. From 6:30 to 7:00 was a soup supper of minestrone and bread and lots and lots of people's leftover holiday sweets. At 7:00 music and entertainment commenced. I got to be in the procession in which the Boar's Head Carol was sung and the (paper mache) boar's head was carried in. The boar's head, made by Steve's daughter, began the day as just a balloon and a paper cup. She did an amazing job. Other highlights included Emma dancing, Steve and Tom singing High Hopes, an historical reflection by Lou Schoen, and the singing of various carols. It was a wonderful way to end the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Twelfth Night & Summary

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

The garden in winter. I think my white clay dough ornaments turned out rather well. Very mild. Pleasant albeit a little scary for the beginning of January.

As always, this season has been a wonderful time to stop and reflect while experiencing the wonderful sight, sounds, smells, and tastes of the season while enjoying time with family and friends and missing those no longer with us. 

I'll close out this Christmastide with a poem:

The Year

What can be said in New Year rhymes,

That's not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go,

We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light,

We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings,

We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed,

We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,

And that's the burden of a year. 

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 - 1919)

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Twelfth Night

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Ornament I picked up this season at the Holidazzle Market. Ate the Heidel chocolate that was stuffed inside it. 

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Twelfth Night

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

I also indulged in a shot of Jaegermeister, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate covered cherries. I picked up the Santa figure shown in the last picture in Bayfield this past summer.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Twelfth Night

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Twelfth Night was a low-key event this year due to the business of being back to work this week. However, it was still nice to give Christmas an official send-off. By the way, I never did find the 3 Kings figures I misplace last year to add to the manger scene.

Christmas Season 2014/2015 - Twelfth Night Part 2

From Wikipedia:

"Twelfth Night is a festival, in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night on either 5th January or 6th January; the church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, celebrates Twelfth Night on the 5th and 'refers to the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story tells us that the three wise men visited the infant Jesus'. In Western Church traditions the Twelfth Night concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas, although in others the Twelfth Night can precede the Twelfth day. Bruce Forbes wrote that 'In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days. If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself.'"

I say if there is all of this disagreement regarding when Twelfth Night falls, then why not just compromise and celebrate on both evenings!

Today at school, Gina brought a Kings' Cake that had five small Baby Jesus figures baked into it. Gina said that it is a Mexican tradition that if you find the Baby Jesus in your piece of cake you need to bring tamales to share on February 2. February 2nd is the Feast of Candlemas which refers to the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Gina who had shared the cake with a number of people already, said that she found the first Baby Jesus. I asked if that meant that she would bring tamales. She just laughed.

Today, I took down some more Christmas decorations, ate some gingerbread men and spritz cookies, and am having another shot of Jagermeister all while listening to Christmas music as I write this. A small celebration, but a celebration none-the-less. Thus concludes my second Twelfth Night.

Christmas Season 2014/2015 - Twelfth Night

We celebrated Twelfth Night tonight. It was quiet and understated.  A shot of Jagermeister, gingerbread men cookies, and some candles (real and electric), helped mark the evening as an end to the Christmas season. Now, for the life of me, I couldn't find the three kings to put with the manger scene. What's with that? I'm sure I'll probably find them this summer...

Twelfth Night 2014 - Three Kings

The 3 Kings finally made it to the manger scene at church today.

Twelfth Night 2014 - Downton Abbey

Very low key Twelfth Night. Dale and I watched the season 4 premiere of Downton Abbey on PBS. 

Twelfth Night 2014 - Luminaries

Made some ice luminaries using a Bundt pan mold. They look quite festive.

Twelfth Night 2014 - Gingerbread Cookies

Didn't make a fancy dinner tonight but did bake some gingerbread cookies. They made the house smell wonderful. These came pre-cut and ready to put in the oven. 

Christmas Season 2012/2013 - Twelfth Night

Information found on Wikipedia regarding the origins and history of Twelfth Night:

"In mediaeval and Tudor England, the Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival that started on All Hallows Eve - now more commonly known as Halloween.  The Lord of Misrule symbolizes the world turning upside down.  On this day the King and all those who were high would become the peasants and vice versa.  At the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival, a cake that contained a bean was eaten.  The person who found the bean would rule the feast.  Midnight signaled the end of his rule and the world would return to normal.  The common theme was that the normal order of things was reversed.  This Lord of Misrule tradition dates back to pre-Christian European festivals such as the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia."

Christmas Season 2012/2013 - Twelfth Night

Dale and I combined celebrating Twelfth Night and an early anniversary by going to Vincent.  I started with a Tanqueray martini.  For a first course I had the cream of chestnut soup.  I believe it was chicken based and it was divine.  Dale had a salad.  For dinner Dale had fish and I had cassoulet.  For dessert Dale had a cheese plate and I had the "three creams" - a custard, pot de creme, and creme brulee.  Vincent never disappoints.  Happy 19th, Dale!

Christmas Season 2011 -Twelfth Night & Summary

I did a little research online today and found out the following:

"Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas."

"It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as 'the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking.' However, there is currently some confusion as to which night is Twelfth Night: some count the night of Epiphany itself (sixth of January) to be Twelfth Night. One source of this confusion is the Medieval custom of starting each new day at sunset, so that Twelfth Night precedes Twelfth Day."

Well, tonight is the eve of January 6th so we'll follow the Medieval custom and call this Twelfth Night.

Dale and I celebrated with drinks, steaks and chocolate cake (and Downton Abbey too). It was all very lovely.

Christmastide this year was remarkable. It was full of family, fun, food, friends, gifts, Gethsemane and more. I'd like to help sum it all up with a poem. 

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind

For those that here we see no more;

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes

But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)