Hi First Presbyterian,
“On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping…” and you know the rest. Do you know the meaning of that song? It’s not a surprise if you don’t, because no one is really certain of its origin or its meaning. Some people think it may have been a song with a secret code for Roman Catholics in England to use to secretly teach children about Catholic faith during a time in English history when Anglicans were persecuting Catholics. Some other people think it may have been a fun memory game for children to play during Twelfth Night parties. But that brings up another question - what’s Twelfth Night? Well, it’s the evening of January 5.
Retail stores would have you believe that the Christmas season begins the day after Halloween and ends after Christmas Day. But for hundreds of years now, Western Christians have observed the Christmas season for 12 days. The first day of Christmas is Christmas Day (December 25), which means, counting forward 12 days would take you to January 5. When Laura and I lived in Springville years ago, a friend of ours from the Presbyterian church used to host Twelfth Night parties, where everyone would bring their used Christmas trees and throw them in a big bonfire to light up the night. It was great fun.
As I think back on those Twelfth Night parties, I see a bit of symbolism that I hadn’t noticed before. While Christmastide was coming to an end, those Christmas trees (literally) were providing the fuel to burn an enormously bright and hot fire. Can we use those burning Christmas trees as a metaphor for how we should enter the season of Epiphany which starts today? The hope, peace, joy, and love we were reminded of during Advent and Christmastide can provide us energy to face the next leg of our journey of faith. Epiphany is a season about making the good news of Jesus Christ known to the world. Does your faith in Christ bring you hope? Our world needs hope right now. In all the ways that you know how, strive to show the world that Christ is the answer to our deepest longing.
Peace to you,
Pastor Neff