Celebrating the twelfth day of Christmas: Reveling throughout the ages

We’ve reached the end of the Christmas season, the twelfth day of Christmas! Tomorrow is Epiphany, when we mark the arrival of the wise men bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn King.

I’ve been reading about the Twelfth Night parties in England in years past, finding the practices fascinating. Often servants and their masters would change places for the evening, with the master serving the servant. A dried bean or pea would be baked into a spice fruitcake, and whoever found it in their portion would be crowned king or queen of the party. Some of the revelry would include games with eggs – the egg and spoon race, and one that I’d like to try, a “toss the egg” game where a raw egg is thrown between two people at ever increasing lengths between them.

Spiritually, we can consider what gifts we’d like to give to Jesus this year. Perhaps a new emphasis on hospitality, or intercession, or keeping our temper, or increasing our tithing.

Will you celebrate Twelfth Night? If yes, how? What about an Epiphany party? And what gifts would you like to seek to give this year?