2021 Life Logs, Day 4: Christmas, Not Over Yet
Date: Monday, January 4, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, A Little Rain; High 40, Low 33 Degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Sick of Christmas? Well, it is not quite over for many people. Wednesday, January 6th, is not just the day that President-elect Biden’s election gets the final validation when a joint session of Congress meets to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. This year that process is going to have a bit more drama than usual. That day is also the twelfth day of Christmas, also known as the Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day or All Kings’ Day. Depending on your religion or where you live, the name varies. And many Americans have no idea what the twelfth day of Christmas is other than a song. I was one of those people who didn’t know what it was until 1979 when John Denver and the Muppets made an album called A Christmas Together. Yes, we had a record player and played that album for Heather and Justin. One of the songs on the album was The Twelve Days of Christmas and it became part of our holiday celebrations. Eventually I wondered what the song was really about. In researching that, I learned about Epiphany or the twelfth day of Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas in the Christian religion represent the time between the birth of Jesus and the coming of the three wise men twelve days later. For that reason, some people call that twelfth day Three Kings’ or All Kings’ Day. In Puerto Rico people often give larger presents than they do on Christmas Day. I know Justin and Jo give Ziggy and Coco presents on All Kings’ Day and I’m not sure if that is a custom of Jo’s from England or if it is something they started doing in Puerto Rico. So, on this Wednesday, we’ll have twelve drummers drumming and some people will give gifts. I, on the other hand, will be taking down my Christmas tree. It has become a custom for me to take down all Christmas decorations on the twelfth day. This year I will be removing those Christmas ornaments while watching the circus happening in the Congress. Or maybe I’ll get an early start and take some decorations down tomorrow night while watching the results of the Georgia Senate election roll in. In any case, I’ll be singing.
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
a partridge in a pear tree.
The song then adds a gift for each day, building on the verse before it, until you’re reciting all 12 gifts together:
Day 2: two turtle doves
Day 3: three French hens
Day 4: four calling birds
Day 5: five gold rings
Day 6: six geese a-laying
Day 7: seven swans a-swimming
Day 8: eight maids a-milking
Day 9: nine ladies dancing
Day 10: 10 lords a-leaping
Day 11: 11 pipers piping
Day 12: 12 drummers drumming