The Twelve Days of Christmas

Today is the day we will finally celebrate our weather-delayed Christmas with my family. It's also hubby's birthday! And yesterday was my nephew Connor's fourteenth birthday. Needless to say there will be much celebrating!

UPDATE: I just got home from piano lessons with the kids. My sister's family is sick so we have to cancel our plans today. We're hoping to reschedule for Sunday.

One thing I've noticed is so many people act as if Christmas is over. We take the twelve days of Christmas to heart around here. December 1- 24 were Advent, the preparation to Christmas. I didn't get my Department 56 villages up until Christmas Eve! The 25th until Epiphany is the actual time to celebrate the holiday.

I've been trying to teach this to the kidlets, too. Each child picks one of their gift from under the Christmas tree on the 25th to put aside until Epiphany, the day symbolizing the visit of the three Wise men/kings/magi when they gave gifts to Jesus. My dad called this Little Christmas when I was growing up though we never exchanged gifts on that day. But I figured saving the gifts might help the kids understand better why I have us do what we do. Time will tell if I succeeded.

One family I know puts up their lights a couple of weeks before Christmas, but doesn't turn them on until Christmas day. They celebrate the twelve days of Christmas by leaving little gifts in the stockings each of the twelve days. I thought that was a neat idea and was so happy that my oldest got to hear that we're not the only ones who do things a little differently.

Of course, the rest of my family takes down their trees and decorations on the 26th which is why we're hosting Christmas today since our decorations stay up until after Epiphany. And now that we have an artificial tree, I won't have to worry about it turning into a matchstick by the first week of January!

What about you? Is Christmas over for you? Or do you continue the celebration until Epiphany?