The 12 days or the 12 Nights of Christmas... How do you celebrate it or do you?

Thanks for your in depth answer here. I had heard of boxing day but thought it had to do with putting away Christmas decorations in boxes... I always thought that it was rather odd that the English put them away so early. Thanks for clearing up that misconception. It is too bad that the public servants are no longer honored although having to go and get those tips might have been a bit difficult to have to do yearly. I must admit that I root for the fox in those fox hunts. And glad I am that the wren now is not paraded on that pole. Thanks for pointing out the history of the 12 days of Christmas. And for pointing out the traditional and non Christian French flavor of the song.

I could have said a lot more but it gets more confusing the more one tries to interpret the song. There has certainly been a lot of rubbish (most of it fairly recent) written about the "real" meaning, especially about it being some kind of Catholic "code" dating from the time of the Reformation - see Snopes about that theory: This is perhaps the most complete page about all the different collected versions: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/twelve_days_of_christmas.htm It is clearly a very old song whose real meaning (if it was ever more than just a nonsense song) has long been forgotten, as evidenced by the different gifts which are listed as given in different parts of the country. As one who has long been interested in traditional songs, I can say that the words (and tunes) of orally transmitted songs generally vary remarkably little except where lines and words are misheard, often because they were in a language which was no longer understood by the singer or his audience. It certainly sounds likely to suggest that the French word for 'partridge' - 'perdrix' - has somehow come down to us as 'pear tree'. For the rest of it, I don't know how fanciful or otherwise the interpretations are. This site: http://www.brownielocks.com/twelvedaysofchristmas.html suggests that 'fertility' might be an underlying theme but ends with a fairly conventional 'Christian' symbolism, which, though probably nothing like the original and real meaning of the song, may work for those people who like to sing it but don't want to feel that they are subscribing to a pagan tradition! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have always rooted for the fox in fox hunting. It's interesting that changes in farming methods (and NOT the existence or banning of fox hunting) have meant that there now are probably more foxes in urban areas than there are in the countryside. In fact, the fox hunting community probably did more to encourage the existence of foxes (because they needed something to hunt, of course), whilst it was legal to hunt, than it did to control or exterminate them. I was always of the opinion that the best and most wily foxes managed to escape the hounds and that only the oldest and least viable one was usually the victim. As for wren hunting, I'm glad that such barbarism is no longer practised but the custom has left us with one or two rather fine songs associated with it, not to mention some stories about why one of our smallest birds was considered the king of them all!

I missed out the Snopes link: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp

I found that it apparently is the 12 days from Christmas Day leading to the Little Christmas or the Feast of the Three Kings... Epiphany. I can understand "being done" after all of that Christmas shopping. How about having them make little gifts for each other and for you... It would give them something to do and teach them to focus more on giving and less on just getting something for Christmas.

Wow I should have known that as I from a Hispanic heritage! Although my ancestors have celebrated dis de Los reis ( 3 kings day ) I do not. I am an American first then a Hispanic. Yes I will be making little gifts with them. Great minds do think alike! This is exactly what I told them we are going to do. Also hugs and kisses are great gifts too. That one made them groan of course lol

How did your ancestors celebrate the 3 kings day? I ask as I have a friend who is coming back from vacation on the 3rd and a 6th of January gathering sounds fun to plan for him.

I never did anything for them either... Although I did celebrate the Feast of the 3 Kings or Epiphany especially when friends were out of town for the Holidays and returned on time enough to celebrate that holiday with me.

Gift giving can be easy if you think of getting him something that he would like to receive. It could be anything... Think: What things does he like to do? Would there be a gift that would make doing those things easier? Is there something that you know that your friend needs that you can give him? What things does he like to eat and drink? Perhaps getting him a food or drink gift would be good... or a gift certificate to a place you know he often enjoys going to. Gift giving should be within the amount you can easily afford. It should be a token of your friendship. It does not have to be something major, just something that he would enjoy... Some people make the mistake of getting for others the things that they themselves like without thinking about the likes and dislikes of the ones receiving the gift. Christmas gift giving is similar to birthday gift giving. It does not have to be a "Christian" gift to be good.