Merry Christmas 2020

EDIT

Since our girls are all grown with families of their own now, we sometimes celebrate Christmas on days other than December 25. It may just be a day before or the day after, but in 2020 we had out of town business plans in late December so we planned our family Christmas for December 13. We decided it would be fine as this would give our girls a little extra time this year to celebrate Christmas in their own homes, visiting in-laws, travel, etc.

So on December 13, we started off with prayer, a BIG country breakfast, and a reading of the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth according to Matthew. We played a couple of games, including Spoons, caught some kisses under the mistletoe, had a gift-exchange between the grandkids, and a white elephant gift exchange for the adults.

We also sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with singing 🎶 parts for each of us. It was fun!

We also talked about the folklore of the hidden meaning of the lyrics to The Twelve Days of Christmas. While some may dispute the origin and intent of the song lyrics, the popular folklore is that it’s a song of Christian instruction with hidden references to Christ and the Christian faith. Dating as far back to the 16th century, a time during the religious wars in England, the folklore is that the song was actually a device to secretly teach the basic principles of Christianity to children.

Thus,

1 The partridge in the pear tree represents Jesus Christ.

2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments.

3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity.

4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels.

5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch,” which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.

6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation.

7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes.

9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

10 Lords A-leaping = the Ten Commandments.

11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles.

12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

It’s my hope and prayer that each of our children and grandchildren always remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not about Santa. It’s not about traditions. It’s not about the food and it’s not about the gifts. All these things are fine to enjoy, but Christmas is about Jesus Christ.  One of the most important things we will ever do is share our faith with our loved ones. I pray for each one of our family members to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, in God’s perfect timing. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what day you celebrate Christmas, the most important thing is that He is your Lord and Savior.

Christmas 2021 was celebrated on December 26.

Christmas 2025 was celebrated on December 27…

…and also on January 4, 2026!