I've always wanted to make something of the week between Christmas and New Years, somehow include the "rest" of the year with the rest of December. The time after Christmas and before New Years always seems disjoint to me and then New Years shows up and sweeps one into an abrupt "new" year, like turning the page on a calendar, as if there's a difference between one day and the next. It's like the old joke for me of when someone asks you "how do you feel?" when it's your birthday and you're supposed to feel "a year older" like they're discreet blocks of time.

So, I've decided this morning to "invent" a celebration that incorporates the Twelve Days of Christmas into my life in order to tie the two years together.

http://www.cresourcei.org/cy12days.html

It won't be a wholly religious celebration for me, I love history and think I'll incorporate some historical sleuthing in it also, maybe some genealogy too (since we're talking about "birth" of Christ and death of the old year). I'll include psychology of what ties me to Life and my beliefs, to my past and future (kind of new years resolution forming) and to my "heritage"/attributes and genes.

I guess I'll try to think of twelve personal attributes I cherish (because I "have" them or want them); honesty, creativity, wisdom, reason/intelligence, faith, hope, love, etc. and maybe do something candleish :-) like Hanukkah, and meditate and "work with" each day's attribute but try to also weave things into a whole so the years merge more seamlessly, despite one's tendancy to write the old year on new year checks.