Merry 12 Days of Christmas!

Index of Christmas holiday posts

What a joy that there are 12 days of Christmas instead of just one! There will be time for Rachel and Stephen and Jennifer to join us later this week for a family celebration on the night of the 4th day of Christmas! More Christmas nights to enjoy movies, songs, storybooks and holiday time together.

The 12 days of Christmas from December 25 through January 5 lead up to Epiphany, January 6, when we celebrate the arrival of the magi with our own family gift exchange.

Each day during the 12 days of Christmas we sing the appropriate portion of the song. This morning (December 26) we caroled each other with the first two verses. Here are my favorite versions from iTunes:

• Relient K, from Let it Snow, Baby… Let it Reindeer
• Straight, No Chaser, from All I want for Christmas
• Riders of the Sky, from Christmas the Cowboy Way
• Burl Ives, from Stars of Christmas (1951)

The Christmas Price Index (CPI) tracks how much all those gifts would cost today. We heard a funny parody this year at the OU Combined Choirs concert, sung in the form of 12 letters Agnes sent to John upon receiving each of the gifts.

Two of the Annas: Hannah and Anna.
Click here to see an album of snapshots from this holiday season (updated daily).