The worldly festival of Christmas is one day, maybe two, and then the letting go and dieting greatest hits start playing till the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day sales specials begin. Which seems to leave something of an older wisdom in the heap.
However in the tradition of the church, Christmas is 12 days, hence the song. Christmas doesn't wrap up until Epiphany, on the 6th of January. Yet this season of Christmas gets lost and trampled under school breaks and travel and probably sheer confusion; and too often Epiphany gets overlooked (when it is all about looking and finding!).
For many years I have been pondering how to invite friends and neighbors into practicing a full Christmas season. It seems to me that the ways must be simple and faithful, transportable, and focused on practices that grow discipleship and connectedness. This year I wonder how a Christmas practice could help us to listen more truly, care more honestly, and advocate compassionately.
For 12 days in the past I have tried to re-read a small book each day, and another year I have tried an Epiphany or Christmas food from 12 different cultures. Sometimes I have tried lenten-type practices that seemed harder in their 40-day form, and so too I have tried Advent practices that I heard of in the middle of the season. It would be lovely to see an 'everybody' does this practice take root, however, I suspect that is unlikely. So today, and for the next 12 days (which will overlap into the 12 Days of Christmas) I will be sharing 12 ideas for a holy season of Christmas practice. 12 days may be busy, but they may also be unbound to your ordinary time. It a boundary time and holiness can be found in the boundary times.
Here is an image of the words offered by the amazing brothers of SSJE for Advent, and then the ones I added to make the season complete.
What can you do with a word a day devotion? The options are endless, however here are 12.
- Take photos and post them online.
- Research quotes and copy them, and maybe post them in social media.
- Draw the word,
- Color the word.
- Look the word up in the dictionary and thesaurus.
- Write a poem,
- Create a dance.
- Compose a song.
- Use the word as a centering prayer 'mantra'.
- Hum the word while you knit or sew or craft or work.
- Go to a favorite and trustworthy media source and search the word and read or listen to a result.
- Seek a local charity that the word connects to, and find a way to offer your time or talent or treasure.
So what other ways have you tried a word a day devotion?
How would you make a word a day practice lean more toward the light of Epiphany?
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