On the 7th day of Christmas

Seven Swans A-swimming – The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

1) Prophecy

2) Ministry

3) Teaching

4) Exhortation

5) Giving

6) Leading

7) Compassion

(Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On The Seventh Day Of Christmas
My True Love Gave To Me

7 Swans A-swimming (The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit)

6 Geese A-laying (Six days of creation)

5 Golden Rings (Five Books of the Old Testament)

4 Calling Birds (Four Gospels)

3 French Hens (Three Theological Virtues)

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

On the 6th day of Christmas

Six Geese A-laying.

The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On The Sixth Day Of Christmas
My True Love Gave To Me

6 Geese A-laying (Six days of creation)

5 Golden Rings (Five Books of the Old Testament)

4 Calling Birds (Four Gospels)

3 French Hens (Three Theological Virtues)

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

On the 5th day of Christmas

Five Gold Rings

The first Five Books of the Old Testament:

1) Genesis

2) Exodus

3) Leviticus

4) Numbers

5) Deuteronomy

Which gives the history of humanity’s sinful failure and God’s response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On The Fifth Day Of Christmas
My True Love Gave To Me

5 Golden Rings (Five Books of the Old Testament)

4 Calling Birds (Four Gospels)

3 French Hens (Three Theological Virtues)

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

On the 4th Day of Christmas

The Four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

On The Fourth Day Of Christmas
My True Love Gave To Me

4 Calling Birds (Four Gospels)

3 French Hens (Three Theological Virtues)

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

3rd Day of Christmas

Three French Hens The Three Theological Virtues:  1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On The Third Day Of Christmas
My True Love Gave To Me

3 French Hens (Three Theological Virtues)

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

Boxing Day

The day after Christmas is traditionally the day for employers to give a gift, a “Christmas box”, to their employees. The holiday is a primarily British holiday and is celebrated across the world in current and past British held commonwealths.

Boxing day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994 in South Africa. The day also is known by Catholics as St. Stephen’s Day. In Ireland, Boxing Day is celebrated along with the Day of the Wren. December 26 is considered Second Christmas in Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Scandinavia. 
OBSERVE

Use #BoxingDay to post on social media.

HISTORY

Boxing Day has been an official holiday in England, Wales, Ireland and Canada since 1871.

There are wide and varying answers regarding the origins of Boxing Day. Some point to the song of “Good King Wenceslas” as the origin of spirit, if not the day itself. According to the song, the 10th century duke looked out up on his land on St. Stephen’s Day (which is celebrated on December 26) and observes a poor peasant. He orders food, wine and wood for fuel to be taken to the peasant and calls for all Christian men to bless the poor in the same way.

In the Church of England, it was traditional during Advent for churches to display a donation box. After Christmas the contents of the box were distributed among the poor.

Among the aristocrats, it was traditional to give boxed gifts to their servants and employees.

Most of the events on modern Boxing Day have little to do with the charity in the stories mentioned. Popular festivities include eating leftovers, soccer games, visiting and drinking.

2nd Day of Christmas

Two Turtle Doves – The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On The Second Day Of Christmas
My True Love gave To Me

2 Turtle Doves (Old and New Testaments)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Jesus Christ)

Merry Christmas Wish

It’s that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas?

Many may not agree with me but this is what I believe.

Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, turkey dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room, and shouts of “Merry Christmas” to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?

For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don’t have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to celebrate because they have passed or for others who can not come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only a wish and not a reality for some.

Yet, Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

So I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

The 12 Days of Christmas

There is much controversy about this song but I learned this as a child so this is what the song means to ME. I will be explaining what I learned what the 12 days of Christmas meant and still believe this song to be.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany  (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). In some traditions, the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas (December 26th). In these traditions, the twelve days begin December 26 and include Epiphany on January 6.

However, on another level, this should not prevent us from using the song in celebration of Christmas. Many of the symbols of Christianity were not originally religious, including even the present date of Christmas, but were appropriated from contemporary culture by the Christian Faith as vehicles of worship and proclamation. Perhaps, when all is said and done, historical accuracy, as important as that might be on one level, is not really the point.  Perhaps more important is that Christians can celebrate their rich heritage, and God’s grace, through one more avenue during the Advent and Christmas seasons.  Now, when they hear what they once thought was only a secular “nonsense song,”  they will be reminded in one more way of the grace of God working in transforming ways in their lives and in our world.  After all, is that not the meaning of Christmas anyway?

The meaning of the song.

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

A Partridge in a Pear Tree The “True Love” one hears in the song is not a smitten boy or girlfriend but Jesus Christ, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also represents Him because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators.

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