amydavis Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 My family is new to celebrating Christmas past the 25th of December. Even before we converted to the Episcopal church, we would leave the tree up until the new year, because we hated to see Christmas "go." I'm curious about how others celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, and the Epiphany or Theophany. We're still new to this, and trying to build our own customs and traditions. So far this basically means that we don't turn Christmas "off" in our home. We still play the music, watch the movies we didn't finish, etc. But I'm really interested in how others celebrate. I liked the idea presented in the Christmas tree thread about exchanging family gifts on the 6th. Anyone care to share? I'm curious about things you do during the 12 Days, and any special things you do on the 6th, etc. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 We celebrate Epiphany with a Three Kings cake and a treasure hunt. I make a treasure hunt that takes the kids through the house and ends with gifts under the tree. They haven't figured out yet that the end of the hunt is always the tree. :laugh: The gifts are usually small, and are a part of our Christmas budget. M kids love this simple tradition. We usually don't put up our tree until the last Sunday of Advent, so we celebrate the waiting season of Advent, celebrate the glory of Christmas, and then end the season with Epiphany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amydavis Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 We celebrate Epiphany with a Three Kings cake and a treasure hunt. I make a treasure hunt that takes the kids through the house and ends with gifts under the tree. They haven't figured out yet that the end of the hunt is always the tree. :laugh: The gifts are usually small, and are a part of our Christmas budget. M kids love this simple tradition. We usually don't put up our tree until the last Sunday of Advent, so we celebrate the waiting season of Advent, celebrate the glory of Christmas, and then end the season with Epiphany. What kind of things/activities do you do to celebrate Advent? I know that wasn't part of the original question, but I'd love ideas for that, too. I like the treasure hunt idea. I think my kids would enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I love the whole time of Christmas, so I'm always excited to get to keep celebrating after Christmas Day. Every year, I threaten to leave our decorations up until Candlemas, but I haven't actually done it yet, although they do tend to stay up for a week or so after Epiphany. Advent is my favorite time of year. I love the waiting and watching and anticipation. We do Jesse Tree readings every morning, and the readings for the "O" Antiphons every night for the last seven nights before Christmas Eve. We read through one of the "Jotham" stories every year, usually in the afternoons. We also do our nightly prayers by the light of the Advent wreath...I think that's what I miss most when Advent is over. It seems to make prayer-time more serious, somehow. The days until Epiphany are for continuing to celebrate Christmas for us. I continue making special meals and/or desserts, we listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies, and just emphasize family time. We also enjoy special church services whenever they pop up. Since Epiphany is a Sunday this year, there's no extra service for it at our church, but there is a special service the night before, focusing on the sacred music of Christmas, so we'll go to that. Epiphany also happens to be DH's birthday, so we always have a big meal, and in addition to him opening birthday presents, the children all get one last surprise in their stockings. We don't do family Christmas gifts on Epiphany, because I don't want to totally overshadow the birthday celebration! I was going to have readings for the 12 days of Christmas, much like our Jesse Tree readings, but I never got around to finishing the ornaments...maybe next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 We always have a mini celebration for 12th Night. I make cake, we chalk the door and the kids get a small gift. It makes a really nice finish to the season. I do put out the tree on Jan 2 (it's real) but leave all the nativities out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I'm just bumping this up because I'm interested in this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 We keep Christmas out of Advent to the extent possible. I mean, we're not total scrooges about it but we try not to feast, eat the treats, listen to music, decorate, or open gifts people give us early (unless opening them right then would be too rude--like if we're visiting with someone we never see). This lets us put all this stuff into Christmas without being tired of it all, yet. We stretch out gifts for Twelve Days. We don't buy any more gifts for our kids than we would but we have extended family who send stuff. So we'll do stockings plus a few things on Christmas morning. Then it mostly works out that we see one extended family member of have something that was sent to us for all the other days. Some days it is one family gift like a new movie and other days each kid gets something. Epiphany is when dh and I give our gifts to the kids. We are having a big Twelfth Night part this year with caroling and chalking the door. We might make it an annual tradition. The Three Kings travel through our house during the Twelve Days. We eat with candles and bring out treats all through the Twelve Days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 double post, sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I'm pretty good at focusing on Advent, but am still working on Epiphany traditions. During Advent, the kids make Jesse trees. I love reading the different readings with the kids, and the kids have memorized a good timeline of salvation history in a lovely way. Also, we try to focus on alms giving, fasting, and charitable works in Advent. Fasting is very tough this time a year, but we did better this year than last year. We decorate the kitchen slowly throughout Avent with paper chains made of scrapbook Christmas paper. Each time a kid makes a sacrifice or does some charitable act, they get to add a link to the chain. I tell them they are preparing their hearts inside for Christ and we are just making an external show of the real interior work going on. They love it. We slowly begin decorating the rest of the house and tree around the middle of Advent. If I wait any longer, it becomes too stressful for me. Also, I look at it like preparing for the birth of any baby. I wouldn't wait until the night before I went into labor before I started preparing the nursery! I look at my Christmas preparations in Advent as just preparing our home for the birth of Christ. I am struggling with keeping the tree up all the way to Epiphany. We always have real trees and even though they are never up before Dec. 15, they are soooo dried out by Christmas, much less Epiphany. I water constantly, but can't seem to make my trees last. It is a bummer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I love Christmas, but I also love Epiphany--it's such a happy time in the Church Year. Every Sunday, we see another manifestation of Christ as God--His baptism, the Cana Wedding, all the way to the Transfiguration right before Ash Wednesday when Lent starts. We do an Advent Wreath, and usually light it with a white candle in the middle on Christmas, then continue lighting it every night at dinner until Epiphany (this year we ended early as the first candle burned too low!). Our church does this, too. Does yours? We don't really do anything else special, I just love the season; it's so joyful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I can't say that I have huge traditions surrounding the 12 days of Christmas. I didn't grow up liturgical so it's been a slow process to add these traditions in. Mostly my celebrations are centered around liturgical observances. One thing my priest brought up in his sermon yesterday was that beginning right after Christmas we are reminded of the "road" we take as Christians. 27th is the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, 28th is the 20,000 martryrs who were burned in the church at Nicomedia, the 29th is the Slaughter of the Innoncents by Herod. And so it goes. Also, Jan. 1st is the Circumcision of our Lord (8th Day). We have liturgy that day. We commemorate it because Christ humbled Himself and put himself under the Law - even though He is the Creator of the Law. So, all that to say, I do try to pay attention to the liturgical calendar and talk with my youngest about it (my other kids are older). Because in the EO tradition we have been fasting for the 40 days preceeding Christmas the 12 days of Christmas are completely fast-free. It really is very happy, happy time - and a bit of over indulging too :001_cool: . But there is something to be said for preparing for the Feast Day in this way. My kids and I really do look forward to Christmas in a new way. Theophany is a huge deal in the Orthodox Church. It's a happy, wonderful service. When it's on a weekday we usually have a morning and evening service so everyone has a chance to participate. It falls on a Sunday this year so I think we'll just have the one service. Many parishes work together and have a special service at a local river, lake, or even the ocean. I've even seen photos of the service they do at the Continental Divide in CO. I love Theophany services! Even if you're not Orthodox try to go one day if you can. We have the blessing of the waters and that water is used throughout the year for house blessings, etc. Here's a short article from Huffington Post As a complete sidenote (but one of my pet-peeves): One of the things that can be confusing in the EO church is that we have 2 calendars (old and new). New Calendar Christmas is on 25th of Dec. like the west. Old Calendar is Jan. 7th. However, (and this is where people get confused) - New Calendar Theophany is on Jan 6th. So sometimes people will say on Epiphany/Theophany "Merry Christmas to our Eastern Orthodox friends" - but it isn't Christmas to us on either calendar! LOL. It's either Theophany OR Christmas Eve depending on the calendar you obvserve. Confused. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Theophany is a huge deal in the Orthodox Church. It's a happy, wonderful service. When it's on a weekday we usually have a morning and evening service so everyone has a chance to participate. It falls on a Sunday this year so I think we'll just have the one service. Many parishes work together and have a special service at a local river, lake, or even the ocean. I've even seen photos of the service they do at the Continental Divide in CO. I love Theophany services! Even if you're not Orthodox try to go one day if you can. We have the blessing of the waters and that water is used throughout the year for house blessings, etc. Here's a short article from Huffington Post Our 19yo son says he's going in this year! He's volunteering anyway; we'll see what Father says. Our parish property has a creek on it -- we're snow covered, too. I told Father I'm cranking the heat in the building (house) before we go outside so the bathroom will be warm for whoever does go in to go into as soon as they come out of the water. Brrrrrr. We were baptized at Theophany, so have happy memories of this time of year, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 DD and I were invited to a Christmas tea party this year, where each family made a brought small felt banners representing one of the 12 days of Christmas (from the song). A paper with possible Christian meanings for the song lyrics and a relevant Bible verse is glued on the back. It worked like a cookie exchange. Dd and I took 12 banners for "5 Gold rings" and came home with a complete set for days 1-12. The hostess gave each of us a thick red cord and some small clothespins with which to hang the banners. Not strictly Scriptural, but fun to have, pretty and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I LOVE the days after Christmas! Here's a link to the month of Jan with all of the Feasts and if you click on the feast, it will open another page with foods/activities to go with. We go to church a lot! (even tomorrow is a day of obligation-The Holy Name of Mary. Thankfully we have a patron saint of hangovers, so I'm sure many will be invoking her tomorrow... :D (St. Bibiana) so people can get to church). Epiphany we have the blessing of the chalk and we have a small home ceremony where we say prayers, bless the house with water and write the year in chalk over the doors (20 C+B+M 13). On the 12th we have The Baptism of Christ, (Theophany) which is the last day of our Christmas season. What I do--I DON'T try and shove it all in the days before Christmas. I have Christmas books I still read over these days. Crafts we still do. Music we still listen to. We eat a lot, rest a lot, enjoy a lot. When you're not crazy trying to fit it all in before Christmas, it eases, you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 We aren't able to really do anything this year about the 12 days, but I did do St. Nicholas' day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 For advent this year, I found some good Jesse tree devotional material this year at Ann Voskamp's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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