Saturday 5 January 2013

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Not twelve lords a-leaping but a bare-branched, wire tree, laden with twelve Epiphany stars, (hooky ones of course!), courtesy of Ana's lovely pattern here. Ana has another lovely winter star pattern here. I had to make several of both before I could make up my mind which ones to go with, on my wire tree. In the end I decided on the slightly more solid, Granny ones. I made them from Cascade Ultra Pima cotton on a 4mm hook. Originally I was going to restrict myself just to shades of blue but in the end I couldn't resist adding in some other colours. As Ana says, the stars need blocking to make the points, well, pointy but the results are beautifully starry! I love them!


I find Twelfth Night or Epiphany rather mesmeric. The arrival of the strange and enigmatic wise men emerging from the shadows of the rising sun with their strange and enigmatic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, I find mysterious and intriguing. What fascinates me particularly is not that they realised that the Christmas star was new but the fact that they were looking for a sign in the first place.

What restlessness, what questioning was in their hearts, that meant they were they searching? It must have been intense, because having observed the star, they up and leave their homes, (and presumably their families), for an unknown destination without hesitation. The journey is not only unknown but fraught with peril. They run into trouble in Jerusalem with wily old Herod and are lucky to escape his clutches and make it to Bethlehem at all. Having done so, we're told by St Matthew, that they return "by another route"  to avoid running into Herod's heavies, but I always feel there's more to it than that - how could they go back exactly the same way when what they had experienced had been so life-changing. My hunch is that they not only returned home "by another route" but that when they got home their whole lives took "another route". As life often does when we experience our own epiphanies or light-bulb moments.

May the blessing and brightness of the Christmas star illumine your way ahead; may you find clarity and direction when the road forward is unclear; may you find guidance where it is perplexing or uncertain; may you find sureness of footing and purpose even on a journey into the unknown and may your life's true destination shine beyond and before you always.


Happy Twelfth and Last Day of Christmas Everyone!

with love from Mrs T x





14 comments:

  1. Hi Mrs. T!
    I've enjoyed your Days of Christmas posts very much! Thank you!

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  2. Thank you Elizabeth, I've really enjoyed this journey with you. You are a very intelligent lady indeed and it has been lovely learning from you.

    Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas to you too

    Helen xx

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  3. Dear E
    I have also enjoyed sharing these twelve posts. They have been a joy to read and have provided much food for thought in the quiet days after Christmas. Thank you.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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  4. Thank you for your blessings,while facing the challenges ahead I will carry them in my heart.

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  5. Happy Christmas and New Year Elizabeth! I haven't seen you for ages and so it has been great to read your entries. We are just off to eat left over Christmas treats and play games to celebrate 12th night, love Natalie x

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  6. well i loved those 12 days of christmas blogs! thank you so much for doing that! Bless you too x

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  7. I have really loved these days of Christmas posts, and the blessings at the end of each. Today's words really resonated with me as this year will bring all sorts of changes and decisions for me. I will carry your words with me, Mrs T - thank you.

    Gillian x

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  8. Beautiful. I think you are right, how could they live the same afterwards...it was a life changing moment and their paths were made different then on in.

    I remember (although not too well it seems as it's very sketchy!) a programme on tv a good few years ago that was out to prove/disprove the Christmas story....I don't need any convincing, but found it interesting when they traced the star patterns back through time only to find that there was no new star at that time...then they realised that they were out by a handful of years (down to a changein the calendar? This is where I'm unsure) but when they recalculated sure enough there was a new star appeared. I guess even though it was many moons ago, the wise people were learned enough to know that what they saw was significant....awe inspiring! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  9. I just LOVE it!!! and in all those beautiful colors. I like how you put them on that wire tree.
    Happy holidays, and a wonderful new year!
    Ana BC

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  10. What a beautiful idea! Just gorgeous :-)

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  11. I finally managed to catch up and read all your twelve days of Christmas posts; a lovely idea and very thought provoking. Thank you.
    Ax

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  12. I am walking through cancer surgery and treatments right now... I found your last paragraph so very sweet, encouraging, and inspiring. Oh and how grateful I am for the Gift that star was directing the wise men to!! Thanks for sharing :)

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  13. Those are very lovely, and very clearly defined stars - perfect for the job!
    And thank you for your telling of the following the Christmas star. You have a very readable, clear style of writing which engages people. You are very talented.
    PS, the project bag is proving worth its weight in gold - the book I am working from fits in it too, which is a first - so compact!
    x

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  14. Hi. I need to go back and read all of your Christmas posts. This one is so beautiful. On Epiphany, I burned a Christmas "smoker" (or incense burner) that is in the shape of a Bishop with his miter. A German exchange student gave me this item years ago. As the house filled with incense, I thought about the promise of the New Year--one that your prayer at the end of your post articulates so beautifully. Thanks so much for sharing.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to visit me at Mrs TT's and comment. I love to read what you write.