The Twelve Days of Christmas... Thank Goodness!

We're back from the Santa Fe sojourn. What a great place! Santa Fe seems, from our very brief and seasonally exceptional experience, as if it were stuck in a time-warp from 40 years ago. People stroll on the street, greet each other naturally and confidently. The Cathedral sits prominently in the center of town and seems a vital part of its life. We felt safe and free during our time there. Besides everything else, the city's larger buildings, all built in the Pueblo-style with lights along their upper walls at night, recalled vividly and eerily what ancient palaces would have looked like in Mesopotamia or Greece. It was a fantastic sight. (see 30 second clip of images from SantaFe.org)

The kids loved the place too, partly just from being able to experience and recall the snow and frigid temperatures from several years ago when they were little boys in Buffalo, New York. But they also got their first taste of snowboarding, and, well, let's just say that they are now hooked. At least they will have something to talk about with their friends for a bit besides this, that or the other cretinous band and their mind-polluting music.

Speaking of distractions for the kids, I'm going to try to get the little Oxen interested in Fantasy Professional Golf at this PGA game site linked here... we'll see how it goes.

I'm still getting my Christmas cards out! But that's O.K. since Christmas actually just started. The traditional celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord lasts from December 25th until January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, which marks the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem to honor the baby Jesus.

Originally the 12 days were a period of continuous celebration. In many European countries, gifts are only exchanged on the Epiphany, and Christmas is left as more of a purely religious celebration. Not a bad idea, eh?

And of course, there is the song! We all know the words, but do you know all the symbolism? Just in case...

Play Music !

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens, etc. ...

... well, you get the idea! "The Twelve Days," like typical traditional songs, is filled with symbolic allusions.

Religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas
1 True Love refers to God
2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

So thank goodness for time to get out those last cards... and many happy returns of the day! (Or exchanges for store credit...)

And now for something not quite completely different...

In response to questions from some fellow bloggers, here is some info on some of the sponsors here at Dumb Ox News:

The following ads are all from Linkshare... you too can clutter up your fine blog with these lovely ads!!! Linkshare is free, pays commissions on sales through your blog to your Paypal account or, if you prefer, sends you a check I think. You can select your sponsors, the size and location of their ads, and some sponsors have ads that rotate particular offers automatically with each screen reload.

Check them out through the link here and they will know you were sent by me! Isn't that lovely?

...

Some examples:

AFTER CHRISTMAS SALE & CLEARANCE at macys.com! Save 10-60% + values throughout the store. Offer valid 12.26.06-1.1.07.
Holiday Lane - save 50% on clearance!



















Coming soon... a piece on Commission Junction advertizing that rotates ads between your choice of sponsors automatically!

Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, Is It Just Me?, Perri Nelson's Website, The Random Yak, The HILL Chronicles, Don Surber, Pirate's Cove, The Bullwinkle Blog, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, and Conservative Cat,Jo's Cafe, basil's blog, and bRight & Early, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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