Merry 5th Day of Christmas

Merry 5^th Day of Christmas 

This is the time  in the Christmas season when I hear many are packing up their Christmas trees and decor. It is only the fifth day of Christmas and there is still a lot to celebrate!

Why Five Golden rings on the Fifth Day of Christmas?

Five Golden Rings are symbolic of the Pentateuch, the first five Books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

 

 

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

In addition the Fifth day of Christmas, today is also the Feast of the Holy Family.

I like to contemplate the Holy Family in the manger on this day. I wonder about the more daily and mundane tasks of parenting and childcare that Mary and Joseph did for baby Jesus. Did he sleep through the night? Was he fussy? When did he first smile at his mother and earthly father?

 

I think about these questions when I look at the different nativity sets on display this time of year.

The Nativity set at my church, Sacred Heart Mission, is set up on the side altar, under the grotto with the Blessed Virgin Mary Statue.  It is so beautiful!

 

 

 

 

At home, I have four Nativity sets, as shown in this photo. Starting at the top left is the miniature Precious Moments nativity set; my husband gave me this set years ago. I still love it!

The second one, shown on the upper right, contains only the 3 figurines of the Holy Family; these pieces are what remain of the old set that belonged to my paternal grandmother, Elvira. At one point, Nana had replaced the baby Jesus with another baby Jesus figurine and she gave the original one to my cousin (who later gave it to me as a gift!). These pieces are pretty brittle now and I keep it in my mom’s hutch cabinet year round rather than packing it away.

The third nativity, shown on lower right, is a one piece figurine. It is pretty heavy even though it stands only about 4 inches high. It has the slight purplish colors and it looks lovely under the mini Christmas tree I keep in our living room. This was a gift from my sister, Marie.

The fourth and final nativity, on the lower left, belonged to my mother, Patsy. It is also displayed in Mom’s hutch cabinet (must keep it safe from the felines!!). In keeping with Mom’s yearly tradition, I did not place Baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning.

As I continue to enjoy the Christmas season on this 5^th day of Christmas, and consider the Holy Family as I look upon the various nativity sets, I feel blessed to have so many beautiful memories of past Christmas seasons as well as the opportunity to find joyful moments and create new memories in this current Christmas season.

Merry Christmas,
Karen