As we reach the 12th day of Christmas, I wanted to reemphasize the Christ child, born on Christmas Day (not necessarily 12/25 of course, but presumably the darkest day of the year benefits from a reminder of The Light).

If you don't have Luke 2 memorized, you may have nonetheless have heard Christ's birth story in a sanctuary, in your living room, or in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Where can you go from here?

A few years ago I wondered the same thing. This led me to create small boxes of gold, frankincense and myrrh, for my students and family members. (The 21st century being as it is, it's fairly easy to acquire these products at your favorite source.) 

A few other ideas:

The Spinx at Dawn - This @Madeleine L'Engle pair of short stories imagines Jesus's childhood in Africa. I loved how it made me think a little harder about what his life would have been like and what His behavior would have been like with other children.

Enjoy a meal like His family may have enjoyed--Jewish, Egyptian, or Ethiopian (see above ☝🏼) cuisines would all be good ones to try.

Spend some time on genealogy - I love that full genealogies, for both Mary and Joseph, are provided in Matthew and Luke. As it happens, my family gave me a genetics kit and ancestry membership for Christmas.

We haven't done it for years, but some families celebrate with an actual Christmas birthday cake. (We're not that wild about cake, so this has been lower on our list.)

Wait to put baby Jesus into your nativity until Christmas morning. (A friend of mine from Columbia taught me this tradition.) Leave the nativity up until at least January 6 (known as the Epiphany or Theophany), and have the wise men join them at that day.

And finally, like Christ's mother, Mary, in Luke 2:17-19 CEV,  ponder, store the memories of Christ's life in your heart, and think about these things.

And even store your own precious Christmas memories in your heart--through stories, photos and journaling.

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In future years, I'd like to add more Christmas stories. So far, they would include ones about Christmas miracles, stockings, the long-reaching magic of handmade gifts, model trains with villages, and more. Let me know if you have a story for me, or you have a topic that you think belongs in our #Christmasstories.