Page 4 - 12 Days of Christmas (2020)

Contrary to the retail marketing industry, the 12 Days of Christmas are

not the final shopping push before Christmas Day. The 12 Days of
Christmas begins with Christmas Day and continues through Epiphany

on January 6.

There are various explanations about the origins of this period. It may
have been a way to coordinate the solar Julian calendar used in the

western part of the Roman Empire with the lunar calendars used in the
eastern provinces. In 567 CE, the Council of Tours designated
December 25 as Christmas, or the Nativity of the Lord, and January 6

as Epiphany, and proclaimed this time as “a sacred and festive season.”

These 12 days are a time of festivities. The Lutheran calendar
celebrates events and martyrs: December 26 - St. Stephen, December

27 - St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, December 28 - The Holy
Innocents and January 1 - Name of Jesus.

Christmas carols tell the story of Christ’s birth and joy, but more than
that, many carols include the story beyond the joy at the manger. They

take us to see the reasons for Christmas- why God’s ultimate love was
given, the journey of Jesus from the manger to Calvary and to the

resurrection, and what we shall give, how we shall live and how we are
to respond to such love.