Advent Drawing to a Close. Let the Christmas Season Begin...

Soon it will be Christmas Eve and then Christmas day.

The actual Christmas Season in most Western church traditions begins at sunset on Christmas eve, December 24, and lasts through January 5 (the Twelve Days of Christmas.)   On January 6th we celebrate Epiphany .  The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal."  On that day we remember the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.  It's for that reason Nativity creches are incorrect to have the Wise Men as part of the display.  But..............between you and me, I would never leave out the Wise Men.  Heck - they're the ones wearing all the cool bling and carrying gobs of expensive gifts.  But, I digress...

For many of us Christmas ends on December 25th after the last feast or party.  I even knew a woman who took down her tree and decorations on Christmas eve because she was "sick of the clutter."   If you've put up your tree and other decorations the day after Thanksgiving, I can certainly sympathize with ripping them down the day after Christmas.  Give some thought next year to delaying the tree and other goodies until closer to Christmas and leaving them up until Epiphany. 

 Both paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (December 31, 1617 (baptized) – April 3, 1682)

Epiphany and the New Year

I want to thank each and every one of you who expressed kindness and prayers on the passing of my step-son.  On Sunday morning at 4:00am we quite unexpectedly lost our little Elle.  Most of you will recognize her as my avatar.  We will miss her more than words can express...

But today we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord.  Epiphany is the climax of the Advent/Christmas Season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are usually counted from the evening of December 25th until the morning of January 6th, which is the Twelfth Day.  The Magi have arrived and the Son of God is revealed.  Let us all give thanks.

Tomorrow I will take down our tree.  We always leave our tree up until Epiphany. I don't have any "daytime" pictures of my tree but as you can see, I'm not shy with the lights.  Last year I dispensed with oodles of ornaments in an effort to de-clutter and simplify my life. So what do I do this year????? Why, become dazzled by those shiny aqua colored "shatter-proof" (known to most of us as plastic) ornaments.  Only $15.00 for a huge tub full.  Sigh..............

Since my husband teaches guitar, banjo, and mandolin there are lots of cute "music" ornaments.

My favorite are the three little poodles. I've had them for about 30 years.  Someone visited once and tried to tell me they were lambs.  Sorry - in my world they are poodles.

This funny frog is in honor of my girlfriend Jody who passed away almost 10 years ago. Her nickname was frog because of her "froggy" voice. I miss her...

My nativity figures are about 60 or 70 years old.  They were hand-painted in Italy and originally came from a dime store.  Will wonders never cease!!

The beautiful wise men were made by my Mom shortly before she passed away.  They are made from fabric and paper mache.

I'm making lots of plans for 2010 and can't wait to share them with you.