Here we are, at the 12th day of Christmas, the day before Epiphany. Tradition has it that we should take down our Christmas decorations today, to avoid bad luck in the new year. Hmm. I've always waited until Epiphany--although if I'm being honest, I often wait until my husband does it, and he usually takes care of the undecorating on Epiphany.
We will likely take down the Christmas decorations tomorrow. We're having some family members over on Sunday, and we'll need to do some cleaning, which will likely inspire us to put away the seasonal stuff too.
On Jan Richardson's blog post, I read about an interesting tradition, Women's Christmas, which is traditionally celebrated on Epiphany: "In some parts of the world, Epiphany (January 6, which brings the Christmas season to a close) is celebrated as Women's Christmas. Originating in Ireland, where it is known as Nollaig na mBan, Women's Christmas began as a day when the women, who often carried the domestic responsibilities all year, took Epiphany as an occasion to enjoy a break and celebrate together at the end of the holidays."
She also includes a link to a free download of her Retreat for Women's Christmas, which includes readings, art, questions--a great resource if you're in the mood for a contemplative treat with a spiritual theme, all done in a wonderful way.
She creates a retreat each year, and the theme for this year's retreat is "The Path We Make by Dreaming." I love that theme, and I look forward to having time to explore the materials she's created.
May this be the week-end that we see the visions that we seek, even if they twinkle at us from a distance so very far away. May we have the courage to move towards that vision, even if it requires a great journey or a different kind of leap of faith.
but bestows favor on the humble
6 months ago
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