Feast of the Epiphany and Related Matters

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, (also known as Three Kings Day), a celebration that I've blogged about in bygone years. I don't have anything to add to my musings re that subject, so please click here to read my former entries and have yourself a blessed Epiphany!

Meanwhile, because there were three kings it's a good time to once again DISPEL (I first attempted to do this here on Blogger in 2011) the adage, "bad things happen in three."

The Twelfth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas. According to a song, it's the day when someones's true love gave to them twelve Lords a leaping, along with many other items including eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

In honor of the day, I've posted a picture of an illustration (by Roberta Baird) of the bird known as a cuckoo atop this entry. According to a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas), "The lords a-leaping are cuckoos. The cuckoo hen notoriously lays her eggs in another bird's nest. Because of this the cuckoo became a symbol for immorality and disorder. Not just this day, but the whole season of twelve days was a time of misrule and sexual license. The world was turned upside down, and the lowliest laborers might become the highest lords. The twelve lords a-leaping bring the song to an end, since twelve is the number of completion. As we return to normal life again, we remember that spring will be coming, life will be renewed, order will form out of disorder, and the cycle will continue."

And FYI, today is not only The Twelfth Day of Christmas, it is also National Bird Day...

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... which I've written about in bygone years; please click here to reference those entries.

Now have yourself a merry little Twelfth Day of Christmas and remember tonight is Twelfth Night!

Addendum: 

It seems the caption on Ms. Baird's illustration may be wrong. A number of resources discussing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," state that on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, someone gave their true love twelve drummers drumming along with other gifts. And it was on the tenth day that they gave their lover lords a leaping (10 in total) along with other gifts. 

The Eleventh Day of Christmas and other Stuff

It's The Eleventh Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) eleven pipers's along with many other gifts, inncluding eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of Christmas's Eleventh Day, I've posted my photo of an ornament that were created in honor of today's occasion of piper's piping.

The Tenth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Tenth Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming; as well as eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

The web-page, 12 Birds Of Christmas, has this to say re The Tenth Day of Christmas: "We sing the song with the ten lords a-leaping, but originally it was ten pipers piping, at least in England. In earliest known variant found in North America, on the Tenth Day of Christmas, the true love sent ten Cocks A-Crowing. It's all the same, however. Cocks and sandpipers were both legendary for being noisy, excitable, vain and arrogant, feisty, and sexually aggressive  It was shortly after the broadside was published that the word 'rooster' replaced 'cock' in polite company in North America. That may help explain why we don't hear that version today..." 

In honor of the gift of pipers piping on this Tenth Day of Christmas, I've posted an illustration by  Roberta Baird, whose whose other bird illustration I included in yesterday's post here on Blogger.

The Ninth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Ninth Day of Christmas, dear reader! This is the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) nine drummers drumming; as well as eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of the day, I've posted a picture (by the illustrator Roberta Baird) of a bird known as a drummer atop this entry.

According to a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas), "with this verse, the order of the gifts we sing is changed from the original. Instead of ladies dancing, in the earliest known version, on this day drummers were drumming. In England and mainland Europe, the most common drumming bird was the Snipe. Where and when snipes do their drumming is important. Snipes drum in the spring soon after fields have been plowed and are most fertile, and until the mid-18th Century when the new year began. The number nine represents harmony and eternity. Fertility coupled with both harmony and eternity creates the most powerful force we can know."

By the way since this Ninth Day of Christmas is falling on a Wednesday, the day designated in social media as Wednesday's Wisdom I have a bit to offer but it has nothing to do with drummers drumming or any other bird for that matter.

It's now 2019 + also the 8th Day of Christmas! (Tuesday's Truths WK 108)

Happy New Year, dear reader. Hope you had a joy-filled New Year's Eve! As for me, I spent part of mine watching the fireworks in Central Park. It was quite a rainy Eve but that did not deter people from enjoying the display, and at least we could have umbrellas! 

I'm told umbrellas aren't allowed in the areas where people go to view the ball drop in Time Square, but as I said in an FB post, that event has never interested me. 

Bringing in a New Year by being in nearby Central Park with mostly 'hood people who are viewing the display of fireworks (some pictures of this year's"show" can be seen directly below) has been my standard for many years; and in fact, I wrote about this event a number of times here on Blogger, including a 2011 entry.

On another note, not only is today the first day of 2019, it's also The Eighth Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love (according to a song) gave to them eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.