Happy Christmas Day, in the Gregorian calendar at least! According to some branches of Christianity, today is the First day of Christmas, with the 12th and final day of Christmas being Epiphany (celebrating when the Magi/3 Kings went to see Jesus), on January 5 or 6. And if I forget to say it then, Merry Christmas on January 7 to anyone in the Eastern Orthodox churches!
This year, I’d like to give my friends and readers a gift on each of the 12 Days of Christmas. Don’t worry, I don’t have a partridge in a pear tree for you. Or even two turtledoves. And definitely not five golden rings. But I want to give what I can.
I read a short essay recently about Christmas and how for us humans it’s about receiving, not giving. Jesus is the ultimate gift to us, and we can’t give Him anything that would be enough to reciprocate this amazing and precious gift of life and grace. All we can do is reach out and receive it. But in honor of that gift, and with the example given by the Magi of what they felt compelled to bring to Him, we do give gifts. We give Him the gift of our love and devotion in return. We do the same for others in different ways (including tangible gifts, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch) to show our love. And sometimes, we need to be humble and willing to open our arms to receive gifts. This Christmas has been teaching me this lesson in some humbling but sweet ways.
I don’t have much I can give all of you, my readers. But I will share with you something fun, inspiring, or encouraging each day. A little bit of light during these dark days (interpret that literally or figuratively, but here in Oregon it’s definitely dark this time of year!).
Today’s gift: music from the Benedictine monks at Mt. Angel Abbey here in Oregon. Click the link below for three songs that they perform. The top one is fun jazzy music from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The middle one is carols sung by the monks. The bottom one is organ and violin music. Enjoy! (Photo is by me, taken nearly 2 years ago on a visit to the Abbey with my stepsister and her kids).
Seasonal
The Compass Rose Queen 
Thanks Jessie! I’m a little late reading this because I have been sick since the beginning of December, and still am. However, today I have at least been dealing with some of the overflow in my inbox and when I saw your post for the twelfth day of Christmas, decided to reward myself by scrolling down and finding Day 1. Hopefully I’ll read one a day from here in and make my 12 days of Christmas 24! I hope this finds you well and enjoying the new year!