Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas Has Just Begun

Tabitha, Desire, Mehetable, Rebel, Charity, Hester, Eunice, Sary, Lovice, Submit, Thankful, Content, Azubah, Abiah, Lament, these are all names of females I found from a list of headstones at the McDonough Cemetery in Connecticut. Some of the male names are Hiram, Hezekiah, Noadiah, Jabez, Giles, Ebenezer, Recompence, Janna, Chabod, Jehoshaphat, Justus, Comfort and Ozias. The underlined names are family names that were passed down for several generations. (Probably a good thing we did not know this when my brother and I were naming our babies.) The press has a meltdown when celebrities claim to name their children Moonunit, Blanket, Bean, River or North or Jax and Rain. Seriously?? Naming a daughter Submit or even Desire? Sound like stripper names. Starring tonight on center stage Submit Slavofmine fresh from Las Vegas!! What were they thinking? Of course it was the 1700s and strippers were not common. They were not Quakers nor are they Catholic so they are not Saint’s names. They are Biblical names and words that are traits and characteristics that good Christians should strive for.  It does make it a bit easier to locate them in the sands of history because looking for William Jones is not as easy as chasing down Jabez Jones.

              Mason Children painted about 1670 David Joanna and Abigail

I am truly shocked at the number of people who take down their Christmas tree so close on the heels of Christmas. Some that very day most the day after. Do they NOT realize that the first day of Christmas is truly December 26? That January 6 is the 12th day, also known as Epiphany or King’s Day? The day set aside to celebrate the visit of the Magi or the entourage of the Kings. How beautiful the house looks still for New Year’s parties. We never took our tree down until after January 6 or Twelfth Night. Mother would say it was bad luck for the New Year.


I feel like Merry and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings and their concerns about when they will eat. Do other people not get visits from Father Time and the New Year’s Baby? I do. 



Do they not put out apple slices for the camels, donkeys and horses, fruited cakes for the Kings’ and their entourage as they pass by on their journey? I do. 

          Defendente Ferrari [Italian, active about 1500 - 1535], Adoration of the Magi, Italian, about 1520,

Just as I do for Santa, his elf helper and the reindeer. They all leave gifts for us in return. On January 7 the day after King’s Day we have a King’s Cake for breakfast. I feel troubled that most are missing out on the true Christmas celebrations. They live in a frenzy until Christmas day and then in an explosion of torn paper, ribbons and food it is over and all they want to do is get rid of the evidence. How do they ever enjoy it? Do they not practice the daily gift exchange that takes place during the 12 days of Christmas?

                                    
This year I am gifting a group of Romance Writers and Readers I have become fond of on line with photos of gifts I would love to give each one. They are liking it but I know they do not enjoy it as much as I enjoy gifting them. One day it was a sleigh ride with a horse, another a Red Velvet cake. It is fun for me and a way to be thankful for them and to let them know I am thinking about them.


Every morning I awake and wish for each of you a gift. Today it is the gift of gratitude to your parental units for not naming you Recompense or Submit. 

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