26th December
THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS

All singing aside, there truly is a historical basis for the traditional Christmas carol we all know and love, about the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

As Christians we celebrate a period of 12 days surrounding Christmas, starting on December 25, and ending on 5th, the eve of the Epiphany on January 6.

Christians believe that the 12 days of Christmas mark the amount of time it took after the birth of Jesus for the magi, or wise men, to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany!!!

So it is fitting to dedicate each day to Christian dogma and make it symbolic, for catechetical purposes. The two TURTLE DOVES 🕊️🕊️represent the BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT! 📖📖

With Christmas as the first day, every one of the 12 days celebrates a different saint, from St. John the Apostle on Dec. 27 to the Virgin Mary on 1st Jan. 🙏

27th December
THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS

So we're going to unravel the meaning behind the third gift! Each gift gives us a spiritual perspective and we grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God! 🙏

“On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Three French Hens …”

Believe it or not, this is symbolic of the gifts of the Magi: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. These gifts in turn, symbolize the three theological values of faith, hope, and charity or sacrificial love and foretells of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the sacrificial gift of our Savior's life, and the eternal gift of redemption. Jesus, we give thanks for Your exquisite, exemplary life and and we pray we can share faith, hope, and love this Christmas season. Holy Spirit, we thank You for your presence in our life at all times. Amen

28th December
THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

WE WERE WONDERING WHAT TODAY'S GIFT WOULD SIGNIFY! RIGHT?? What will it be? What divine revelation will it convey?
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏

For the fourth day of Christmas, we received
Four COLLY or CALLING BIRDS,,
🐦🐦🐦🐦

4 COLLY or CALLING BIRDS signify THE FOUR GOSPELS AND/OR THE FOUR EVANGELISTS! 📖📖📖📖
Yes, it's easy to conclude and understand that the fourth gift signifies the FOUR GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN!

29th December
THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Now, let us move on to the fifth gift, the gift of today.

We all know that for the Fifth Day of Christmas, My True Love (Secret Santa) gave to me:
Five Gold Rings. 💍💍💍💍💍

These gifts of the twelve days have certainly been disguised really well! So now it's time to reveal the significance behind the gold rings!

The gift of the gold rings represents the first FIVE BOOKS of Moses, of the OLD TESTAMENT, known as the TORAH or the PENTATEUCH.
📖📖📖📖📖
AMAZING, ISN'T IT? Who would have guessed this aspect of faith! Incredible! We're learning more and more,..🙏

Most of all, that the treasures of this earth, like the gold rings can never equal or even get close to the eternal treasures of heaven, found in the Holy Books - THE WORD OF GOD! 📖📖📖📖📖

30 December, 2022
THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

It's time to reveal the sixth gift, the gift for today.

For the Sixth Day of Christmas, My True Love (Secret Santa) gave to me:
Six geese a-laying 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆

Once revealed, we find that this gift is really SO PROFOUND! Christmas takes us back to the first story found in the Bible. Each egg the geese lay, is a DAY IN CREATION, when the world was formed by GOD.

And with each day God bestowed upon us a WHOLE WORLD OF WONDROUS GIFTS! 🌟🌎🌐

Day 1: LIGHT – Where would we be without light?
Day 2: FIRMAMENT – Do we stop to ponder the miracle of the earth’s atmosphere and the blessing of solid ground?
Day 3: DRY GROUND & PLANTS – When was the last time you stop to truly marvel at all the plants God has given us and how they beautify our world?
Day 4: SUN, MOON & STARS – How easily we take it for granted that the sun will rise each morning and that our solar system goes on to mark time and seasons!
Day 5: BIRDS & SEA ANIMALS – Have you ever tried to think of all the birds and animals in creation and how they add to our enjoyment of our world?
Day 6: LAND ANIMALS & HUMANS – How easily we take for granted the gift of life and our fellow human beings!

Not only did God give all these gifts to his people for their enjoyment, he also tells us several other things about these gifts. Over and over in the creation account in Genesis 1 we are told “And GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD!”. This is really saying that God’s creation was perfect in every way.

God told human beings that creation was put there for their use and enjoyment. Hence, we need not feel guilty from using and enjoying the gifts God has given us in creation!

And what did we humans do? We tried to grab the ultimate piece of creation reserved only for God! And incurred His wrath and the curse of sin, which is death!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in the midst of the earthly gifts given this Christmas, may we stop and reflect the awesomeness of the gifts which you have given us in the creation of the world. Let us always be grateful for the riches and blessings you have showered on us and help us treasure and rejoice in the gift of your creation. Amen

31 December, 2022
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

HELLO, HELLO, HELLO!
Today's the LAST DAY of 2022!

So let's quickly unwrap the seventh gift for Christmas and find out what is revealed and the significance it holds for us all!
🕚🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁 HURRY! Let's not be late in ushering in the New Year, 2023!!!
🆕🗓️

The seventh day of Christmas,
My true love 🎅 sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢

The Seven Swans a Swimming represents the SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT which are outlined in Isaiah 11.2-3 and are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear (or, Respect) of the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

“[The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit] complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.”

These attributes given as a gift by the Holy Spirit, are to all practising Christians.

This means living as close to God as possible, avoiding sin through prayer, study of Scripture, and the Sacraments, which are our other symbolism for the seventh day of Christmas!

The Seven SACRAMENTS are: Baptism, Communion, Confession, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick and Holy Orders. 😇❤️🙏

SO DO REFLECT ON THESE PERFECT GIFTS FOR THE LAST DAY OF 2022!!! 🙏❤️

2nd January
THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

IT'S ALREADY THE SECOND DAY OF 2023🆕

And the gift for the Ninth Day is:
For the NINTH day of Christmas
My true love 🎅 sent to me
9 Ladies Dancing 💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

Which, in Bible study, refers to the Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit! A beautiful revelation and a beautiful gift indeed!

The nine fruits, in Scripture, is highlighted by this verse:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

If something helps a Christian learn and understand the Faith and does no harm to dogma and worship, it only benefits the believer.

So, have at it: if the Twelve Days of Christmas helps you and your children learn about Jesus and the Bible, then the merrier you will be if you judiciously use these “hidden meanings.”

The Holy Spirit ensures that this sanctification process is done with us in this life, with our cooperation, of course!

Let's wait and see what the tenth gift reveals... it's SO exciting to gain knowledge in a fun way! 🎉💐🙏 Until then, cheerio 🤗

3rd January
THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Today is also the Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus. What a sweet name. There is no other name that can save us. Praise be our SAVIOR and MESSIAH, Whose tenth day of birth we are celebrating.

For on the TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS,
My true love 🎅 sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping
🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺

Whoa now! Here are ten lords a-leaping towards the nine ladies dancing... 🕺💃
Christmas festivities are in full swing...So let us unravel the EARTHLY/MATERIAL gift 🎁💐to find the SPIRITUAL GIFT. 🎁💐

When we unravel the tenth gift we find that its great significance is -
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS given by the Lord our God, our CREATOR, to Moses. The ten commandments form the very foundation of the laws and statutes which we follow and which lead us on the PATH TO ETERNAL SALVATION! 📖📕✝️⛪

As lords were judges and in charge of the law, this code for the Ten Commandments is fairly straightforward to Catholics.
✝️🎁🕺🎅🙏

4th January
THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

We're almost there! The babe, our Messiah Jesus' seclusion is almost at an end, and the time for showing him to the world is not far away...🕚🕚🕚🕚🕚

So we reach out to unravel the meaning and significance of the gift for the eleventh day of Christmas!
💒🎊🥳🌹💐🎶✨💓⛪🎁🎉

The eleventh day of Christmas
My true love 🎅 sent to me
Eleven pipers piping
🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

With the lords and ladies a-leaping and dancing, there undoubtedly has to be music
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
The heavenly choirs are chanting and singing God's praises endlessly! And the babe grows into a man and chooses twelve disciples, one of whom betrays him!

AND THEN THERE WERE ELEVEN!
The 11 remaining APOSTLES are represented by the eleven pipers piping.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the Eleven Faithful Apostles who remained with Jesus when all others had abandoned Him. They were referred to as "pipers" for they indeed were sent out to all corners to spread the Gospel!

What an AMAZING significance! The unraveling of these twelve gifts ends tomorrow, the FIFTH OF JANUARY, one day before EPIPHANY...So see you all, brethren and followers of Jesus tomorrow! LIVE AND LEARN!!! 🎺🎶🎉🎁⛪🙏

5th January
THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Today is the culmination of our newborn, the baby Jesus' seclusion.

Tomorrow, the kings, the Magi, who have travelled from all different nations and diections in the world, following the brightest STAR 🌟 in the firmament, converge at the place where the babe they were told about lies, and He will be worshipped and praised by humans and a multitude of angels hovering over the place where He is! ⛪🙏🌟

And on this twelfth day, the eve of EPIPHANY, we open the last gift, which will reveal yet another TRUTH of our Christian faith, carefully wrapped, as treasures always are. 🎁

The twelfth day of Christmas
My true love 🎅 sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

And the festivities reach a crescendo with the sound of drums, as we carefully unravel the significance of this last gift!

The drummers are the 12 points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed, which we recite every day, to profess our faith and give glory to the Father, our CREATOR, the Son, Jesus our REDEEMER and the Holy Spirit, our CONSOLER and counsellor.

Let's meditate on each day's SPIRITUAL GIFTS, which help us to remember and renew our faith! 🙏⛪❤️