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I made a cool wreath today. We were invited to an appreciation lunch (which we catered) for a few departments that deserved appreciation from the president's wife for working with her and the president with all they do. Anyway, as part of the gathering, they had real, fresh wreaths and lots of decorations so we could decorate a wreath. A fresh wreath is a cool thing, and while it may have been neat to have one on my door, I wanted to make a fresh wreath that someone could brag about and be like, "Oh yeah, that's just our legit wreath..." So, I made a wreath and gifted it to a good friend, who I hope enjoys it and uses it to bring some Christmas joy to friends and family.
This evening I watched a Muppet Christmas Carol. I love the Muppets, always have, always will. I still need to see the new Muppet movie.
Today, I also want to set the record straight on the 12 days of Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, the real 12 days of Christmas do NOT start today, but the 12 days are known as Christmastide, and begin on Christmas Day and end on the evening of January 5th. As for the song...well, that can be confusing. Some say it originated in England, but others say there is evidence it came from France. Many believe the folk story about it. They say that it was a secret way of practicing Catholicism during the period where public or private practice of the religion was banned in England. Those who believe in this story say that each gift mentioned was a symbolic way of remembering and teaching religious ideals. According to this theory, these are the meanings of the gifts:
This evening I watched a Muppet Christmas Carol. I love the Muppets, always have, always will. I still need to see the new Muppet movie.
Today, I also want to set the record straight on the 12 days of Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, the real 12 days of Christmas do NOT start today, but the 12 days are known as Christmastide, and begin on Christmas Day and end on the evening of January 5th. As for the song...well, that can be confusing. Some say it originated in England, but others say there is evidence it came from France. Many believe the folk story about it. They say that it was a secret way of practicing Catholicism during the period where public or private practice of the religion was banned in England. Those who believe in this story say that each gift mentioned was a symbolic way of remembering and teaching religious ideals. According to this theory, these are the meanings of the gifts:
A partridge in a pear tree - Jesus Christ
Two turtle doves - The Old and New Testaments
Three French hens - The three kings bearing gifts
Four calling birds - The four gospels
Five gold rings - The Torah or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament
Six geese a-laying - The six days of creation
Seven swans a-swimming - Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Eight maids a-milking - The eight beatitudes
Nine ladies dancing - Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten lords a-leaping - The Ten Commandments
Eleven pipers piping - The eleven faithful apostles
Twelve drummers drumming - The twelve points of the Apostles' Creed
Whatever you wanna believe, the song is simply a Christmas carol now and that is what counts. To make it count even more, we have multiple versions for our songs of the day. There are tons of them, but they are all worth listening to, so listen in and find your favorite. We have a calming piano version by a Celtic group, a pirate version, a Hawaiian version, the Muppet version, the Chipmunk version, a great version by those crazy Canadian characters from Strange Brew Bob and Doug McKinzie, one of my favorites: the Vocal Point version, also the group that inspired Vocal Point's version, Straight No Chaser (I like Vocal Point's WAY better though), a steel drum band island instrumental version, and since we needed something traditional, I threw in Bing Crosby singing it all normal. ENJOY!
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