Between December 25th and January 6th are twelve nights.  In some traditions, it is a time for meditation and renewal and a looking forward to the coming year.

Some people consider that each night during this time corresponds to a month of the coming year, and that dreams dreamed during this period give one a glimpse into the future.

Another tradition has it that the weather during each day corresponds to the weather for corresponding month of the coming year, a kind of forecast.

In that spirit, a couple of thoughts about these twelve nights and the number twelve:

1.  There are twelve months of the year, twelve zodiac signs,  and twelve hours of light and twelve hours of night in a 24 hour day.

2.  Twelve equals a dozen and twelve dozen equals a gross.

3.  There are twelve members of a jury.

4.  The human rib cage consists of twelve pairs of ribs protecting the heart and lungs.

5.  There are twelve cranial nerves emerging from the brain stem (olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossel).

6.  Twelve Days of Christmas Song –though first published in England in 1780, the song is likely much older.  One thought about the origin of the song connects it to a tradition which says that the gifts on each day correspond to food or activity which takes place during the corresponding months of the coming year.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, | My true love sent to me | Twelve lords a-leaping, | Eleven ladies dancing, | Ten pipers piping, | Nine drummers drumming, | Eight maids a-milking, | Seven swans a-swimming, | Six geese a-laying, | Five golden rings, | Four calling birds, | Three French hens, | Two turtle doves, and | A partridge in a pear tree.

7.  January 6th is the holiday Epiphany (the baptism of John) as well as Three Kings Day (when the three Kings arrived to give gifts to the baby Jesus).

8.  January 5th is Twelfth Night, a time for festivities, including drinking Wassail (like mulled cider).  In some European traditions, a cake was baked, a King’s Cake, with a bean and a pea inside and whomever ate the bean and the pea, was king and queen for the evening!

9.  Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was believed to have been written for a twelfth night celebration, complete with music, dancing and disorder, just like the festivities generally associated with the Twelfth Night holiday.

10.  There were  twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles.

11.  In Ancient Greece, there were twelve main Gods.  The Norse God Odin had twelve sons.

12.  And, finally, there are twelve spaces explored in Making a Family Home:  The Front Porch, The Front Door/Entrance way, The Living Room, the Fireplace, The Playroom, the Kitchen, the Dining Room, The Bedroom, The Bathroom, The Attic, The Basement, The Backyard and Garden.