5 Ways To Celebrate The 12 Days Of Christmas
Photo by Alsu Vershinina on Unsplash
When you were little, did you ever wish it could be Christmas every day? It’s no secret how that would end—we love sugar cookies and presents, but put them out every day and we’d get sick of them pretty fast!
One of the reasons that Christmas is so much fun is that it only comes once a year. Its limits help make it special. But as we all know, each year it seems to start earlier and earlier in the stores and in the media, and then it ends abruptly on December 26.
However fun the lights and cookies and shopping may be, starting the season too early usually ends up backfiring. The problem with all this early eggnog is not that it’s wrong or that I want to ruin your traditions, but that it leaves us all feeling just a little empty when December 25 comes to a close, when really, we ought to be just getting into the swing of things.
So it’s not just that we begin Christmas too early in our culture, but that we end it too early, too. For many centuries and in many countries, Christmas celebrations did not begin until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and lasted until the Epiphany, when churches remembered the visit of the Three Kings. This is where we get the concept of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Some church calendars extend the liturgical season of Christmas even longer, which works only because early December is taken up by Advent.
So, what’s a Christmas-loving girl to do when December 26 rolls around and she wants to hold on to the magic a little longer? Here are five ways to keep the fun going and honor all Twelve Days of Christmas, whether you have been celebrating since Thanksgiving or you just put up the tree on December 24.
01 | Choose a Christkindl (“Christ Child”).
Even better than a Secret Santa, this Austrian tradition endorsed by the great Maria von Trapp herself assigns each member of the household another person for whom to do secret acts of kindness each day. Examples are leaving a chocolate or a note or drawing on someone’s pillow; or you can go big and get your Christkindl’s car washed or secretly do their dishes! Do it with your family, roomates, or friends, and end with a small gift on Epiphany and the chance to guess whose Christkindl you were. Traditionally an Advent practice, my family has found that it transfers well to the Twelve Days.
02 | Start some Epiphany traditions.
Speaking of Epiphany, nothing keeps the excitement of Christmas going like building anticipation for this high point at the end of the Twelve Days. This is a good time to remind yourself that Christ didn’t receive his gifts until the Three Kings came on January 6 and to consider saving some part of your gift-opening for Epiphany. You can even label gifts from the Magi — in our house, Caspar brings each person an individual present, Melchior brings a group gift, and Balthazar an experience gift. Other Epiphany traditions include savoring a delicious galette des rois (try the recipe on the King Arthur Baking website) or another special treat. Any kids around can make paper crowns and everyone can sing “We Three Kings” with abandon.
03 | Keep the tree up.
Christmas trees radiate the beauty of fairyland and have plenty of spiritual symbolism, as well. If at all possible, keep your tree up throughout the Twelve Days. If you’re worried about it being a fire hazard, just keep it up as long as you can and commit to buying it closer to Christmas next year so that it will last until the 6th. Always get a fresh cut on the bottom of your tree before you take it home so that it can absorb water effectively and live longer.
04 | Count the days.
Everyone loves a good countdown. For example, our family hangs one of a special set of twelve Christmas-carol-themed ornaments on our tree on each of the Twelve Days and sings that ornament’s carol together before dinner. You could also use a special gift basket with twelve small wrapped surprises to make each day special, or use a calendar to plan a special activity for each day – make gingerbread houses, scatter seed for the birds, go caroling, watch a movie, go on a winter walk, etc. Use your imagination and pick whatever you like best!
05 | Save some traditions for Christmas Eve.
If you like to celebrate Christmas throughout December, consider saving just one or two of your most beloved Christmas traditions until Christmas Eve. Holding back on one “big” tradition helps emphasize the special nature of the Twelve Days. So after dinner on the 24th, gather around the tree and put out your favorite Christmas cookies for the first time, or sing your first carols, and read the Nativity story together. And then it’s lights out and a good night’s sleep — because Christmas is only just beginning!
