12 Days of Christmas. I mean TILL Christmas.

It's that time again! Can it really be Friday? Gosh, this week has flown by. In fact, December is flying by and I sometimes feel like it's leaving me behind. So much has been going on with the Bruce family. Do you realize we're 12 days out from Christmas? I'm serious! I'm starting to hum "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . ." Do you know where the whole "12 Days of Christmas" idea came from? Well, my mother gave me a picture book with the story behind the song. Here's the thing: A long time ago it was decided that Jesus' birth would be celebrated on December 25th. The 12th day after Christmas (January 6th) was chosen as the day to honor the visit of the wise men to Jesus. That day was called Epiphany. And back in the day (I'm talking WAY back in the day) the 12 days in between were filled with festivals, including a big party on the Twelfth Night. Cool, right?

If you want to check out the book, it's called The 12 Days of Christmas by Helen Haidle. I'm all about Christmas stories. Here are a few others we like at my house:

 

(This one was actually a book my mom read to me when I was little. It was such a special book to me that I tracked it down and bought it on Amazon this year so I'd have a copy to read to my kids. I think it's actually been updated and repackaged as The Town That Forgot about Christmas. But the original is near and dear to my heart. Do you have any special stories from childhood that you want to share with your children? If so, please share titles! I love hearing about great kids' books