Exciting, isn’t it?!!

I’m sure you are all a-twitter with expectation.

January 5, tonight, is Twelfth Night!

Wow!

On second thought—yes, I know. Twelfth Night has lost all of its “wow!”

It is still the last day of the Christmas season, but you may have thrown out the tree days ago.

And it is still the Eve of Epiphany, Jan 6.

But I don’t know anyone sitting on the edge of their seat with expectation.

Epiphany used to be the big day. It was like Christmas Day is now.

And Twelfth Night was like Christmas Eve.

And people gave gifts on all of the 12 days of Christmas.

See what we’re missing out on? When’s the last time you got five golden rings—or a bird of any kind in a pear tree?

Things began to change in the 18th century.

The old ways died out and the “big day” shifted from Jan 5 to Dec 25.

But a memory lingered on in my family.

My grandmother said her mother used to talk about old Christmas, Jan. 6.

And the day was said to be so holy, at midnight on the night before, all the cattle in the barnyard knelt in prayer.

Mother, age nine, wanted to check this out herself.

So, at midnight, as Jan 5 turned to Jan 6, she went to the cattle barn to see the cows in prayer.

Turns out—not a holy cow in the bunch.

But the story of Old Christmas has lived on in our family for 200 years.

And the cows may not know it, but every day is holy. Have a blessed Epiphany.

And join us at the Lord’s Table on the first Sunday of 2024. At 11:00.