Many assume that the Twelve Days of Christmas are those leading up to December 25, but actually, Christmas Day itself ushers in these twelve days of celebration that end only on January 6 with the feast of the Epiphany. ‘Twelvetide’, as this period is sometimes called, has its origins in an older Christian tradition of twelve days of joyful, celebratory religious devotion following the birth of the Christ Child.
But often, the chaos and pressures we allow to invade what is supposed to be a season of peace, exhaust us, and for most people to think of another 12 days of observation — is a bit too much.
Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education, considered the Twelve Holy Nights between Christmas and Epiphany as the time when the Spirit of the individual and the Spiritual World are most connected, making it the perfect time for special attention to our inner path of personal development.
So we can use this time, a time of one year giving way to another, in a more quiet and reflective way.
Lynn Jericho believes what’s missing in Christmas is an opportunity to explore the ‘inner dimensions’ of the season, and so advocates making the old custom of the Twelve Days of Christmas into a new tradition in which she encourages us to mark each evening from December 25 through January 5 with a few minutes of reflection.
The themes for each of these Holy Nights could help us restore the sacred dimension in our lives. You can choose your own themes, list of words, questions and reflections. Writing them down is a good idea.
On the first night, reflect on ‘generosity’; think of three people who were generous in any way to you, and three more to whom you can reach out to with this quality. The second night, look at ‘receptivity’; during the past year, what gifts from the universe have you neglected to accept or acknowledge? On the third, ‘resilience’; how have or haven’t you recovered your balance when something disturbed you? The next day, a quality we don’t pay much attention to: ‘vulnerability’; can you allow yourself to be vulnerable?
Look at ‘change’ for day five; what changes did you face this past year, what saw you through them, what qualities in yourself came up that you can celebrate? Then, ‘flexibility’; how easy or hard has it been to go with the flow? Day seven, ‘radiance’ – look back at your darkest moments of the last year, and remember who or what lit the way for you. On the eighth day, recall ‘wonder’; did you make time to be touched, awed, delighted?
For day nine, ‘wisdom’; which person, young or old, embodied wise living for you this year? The next day you might look at ‘foolishness’; we all have our foolish moments; have you laughed at yourself, forgiven yourself? On day eleven think of those you find it hard to forgive, and try to anyway. And on the twelfth night – reflect on ‘hope’, and your hopes for the year ahead.
Each night after Christmas, have each member share one thing they are thankful for. Then on cutout shapes of coloured notepaper or leftover wrapping paper, ribbon, and markers, you write the different things you are thankful for and hang them on your tree, setting the tone for your year ahead.
Your Thoughts?