7,8,9,10,11, Epiphany!

I'm behind! We left off at Six Geese a-Laying, so now we are up to Seven Swans a-Swimming. The Seven Swans represent the Holy Sacraments, or seven Gifts Of The Spirit.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On to 8 Maids a-milking! This represents the eight Beatitudes. 

 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Shall we dance? Nine Ladies Dancing are next~
They represent nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,
6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Ten Lords a Leaping symbolize the Ten Commandments~

We've reached 11 Pipers piping! Do you know anyone who plays the bagpipes? A dear friend of mine who lives in Mississippi plays the bagpipes in full regalia!
For the song, Eleven Pipers piping symbolize the eleven faithful apostles.

And, finally, the 12th Day Of Christmas...Epiphany! Epiphany is on January 6 and commemorates the arrival of the Magi visiting baby Jesus. The 12 Drummers Drumming symbolize the Apostles Creed. Many people around the world celebrate 12th Night, either on the evening of January 5 or January 6, depending on which theological calendar they use. It is also called 'Three Kings Day' and many people bake Kings Cakes for the occasion.

The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King. (D. Bratcher). It is the official end to the Christmas season. After today, we will put away our Christmas decorations but I have enjoyed every day of Advent and the special time between Christmas Day and Epiphany! Here is another fascinating fact about January 6; "Around January 6, the symbol +C+B+M+ with two numbers before and two numbers after (for example, 20+C+B+M+12) is sometimes seen written in chalk above the doorway of Christian homes. The letters are the initials of the traditional names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. These letters also abbreviate the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, "May Christ bless the house." The beginning and ending numbers are the year, 2012 in the example above. The crosses represent Christ." HAPPY EPIPHANY!

the following source was used for this post~http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html