Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas!
We’ve come to the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and it’s time to “drum possibilities” because on this day, as the song goes, the drummers were drumming.
Why? What? Music ethnologists remind us that every culture has utilized the drum for a multitude of purposes to touch the heart and communicate emotions, actions and messages in a variety of ways: social dances, feasts, sporting events, religious rituals, prelude to war, ceremonies, weddings, births, funerals, etc.
When drummers *drum*, they are trying to gain interest or support in some way. In fact, the phrase “drum up” has become a favourite of people in business (drum up sales), as excuses (drum up an alibi or story), in advertising (drum up more customers) and yes, in politics (drum up support for a particular Bill / Amendment / Candidate), too.
As interesting as are the gain interest/support uses of the *drum* image, I’d rather “drum up” possibilities – opportunities to
… be creative
… do acts of kindness
… experience joy
… make a difference
… dream
… be involved in self-care
… ‘think’ and ‘respond’ before ‘reacting’
… imagine
… be hopeful
… find ways to keep the Spirit of Christmas alive throughout the year.
Journalist, English writer, poet, philosopher and lay theologian, G.K. Chesterton reinforced the hope that the Spirit of Christmas is lived every day by people of all religions and by people of no religion: “Christmas which is now over, ought to go on for the remainder of the twelve days … (in) our own topsy-turvy time we all hear such a vast amount about Christmas just before it comes, and suddenly hear nothing at all about it afterwards … I am going to plead for a longer period in which to find out what was really meant by Christmas and a fuller consideration of what we have really found.” <G.K. Chesterton>
Chesterton’s point of view is simple … Let’s keep Christmas alive in our hearts beyond this, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, so that Christmas isn’t just one day, or only for those who are Christians, or only for the Twelve Days of Christmas. It’s for us all to enjoy, to keep, to maintain throughout the whole year.
Even though the Season of Christmas draws to a close this night (known as Twelfth Night – and yes, another Soulistry reflection about Twelfth Night will emerge later today), may the Spirit of Christmas continue to be alive *every* day!
© June Maffin
photo: © James Toose, used with permission
calligraphic rendering: © Cari Ferraro, used with permission
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Tomorrow morning, the third Season of the liturgical Church Year begins. The Season of Epiphany (Advent was the first; Christmas was the second), for those following the Gregorian calendar, enters the scene with special images and messages on January 6th.
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As the new year unfolds, may you be blessed in ways you cannot even begin to ask or imagine.
Special thanks to calligrapher Cari Ferraro for permission to use her lovely work highlighting today’s blog, reminding us of the theme of each of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and to James Toose for permission to use his image of drummers.
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