Page 4 - 12 Days of Christmas 2021
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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.
These 12 days are also a time for each of us to reflect on who the
newborn baby Jesus is. "Who do you say I am?” is a question Jesus
asked his disciples in three of the four Gospels. Their answer wasn’t
just, “Jesus.” It was so much more. At some point in all of our lives, we
are faced with a similar question. Who do we say Jesus is?
