It always fascinates me how the radio stations will stop playing Christmas music at midnight on the 26th. The reason being is that among most of the United States and the world, that is when the holiday ends.
When looking back over history it is interesting to note that the exact date of the birth of the Baby Jesus is unknown however, for years it has been celebrated on December 25.
As I was growing up, we had Turkish neighbors who celebrated on different days than we did and that is when I started doing research into Christmas and the days it is held throughout the world.
According to some sects of the Catholic religion, mainly in Eastern Europe, the holiday begins on the 25th and lasts until January 6. If you crunch the numbers, that totals up to 12 days. Sound familiar? That’s right. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…’ and so on.
The days also mark certain feasting and religious occurrences that are celebrated as well.
The theory behind it is that although the recognized birth date is the 25th, the Magii and Shepherds did not arrive bearing their gifts until 12 days following the birth, which falls on January 6.
It is true that not everybody celebrates Christmas the same way and it is also true that not everybody celebrates Christmas so it obviously is not a one size fits all holiday but it is interesting to see how different cultures celebrate.
In our house, we always have an extended holiday. I think it stems back to the last few years when my father was sick. He always seemed to get pneumonia in December and was always getting out of the hospital after Christmas. One year, after buying a real tree, he got out in mid January. We had already taken our tree down but decided to buy an artificial tree on sale just so he would have a Christmas at home. We used the tree for years after as he always seemed to be sick during the holidays.
A couple of years ago both he and I got sick with pneumonia. He got well faster than I did as I had triple pneumonia. I slept through Christmas and New Year’s. We didn’t celebrate Christmas until February.
Last year marked the first year in a long time that my father was home and we made sure that he had a good one.
Anyway, as I return back to where I started with this blog, I have friends who think I amm strange because I tend to believe in the 12 days of Christmas thing. My friends and some family members feel it is all over on the 26th. I don’t but that is what I believe in and in a lot of ways it saddens me that people don’t embrace the old ways and thoughts.
This year, I received nice gifts from friends and family. My mother and I didn’t have a lot to spend for gifts but we are having a great holiday so far. We have good food, are enjoying the lights and other stuff. And, yes, church plays a big role in that as well. But for us, it’s all about being together for another year.
So as your Christmas celebrations wind down, mine are still continuing and my mother and I plan to have our official celebration with gifts next weekend. Nothing big but at least we will present each other with a gift from our hearts.
So if you happen to run into us shopping and playing our Christmas songs, don’t ridicule us or look upon us disapprovingly, we are simply following the old ways. Why not? What’s wrong with enjoying things a bit longer?
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