:: Christmas at KUE ::

Well, as of yesterday, we are 12 days away from the end of Term 1 here at the KUE dorm.

Because the girls leave Thanksgiving day and don’t come back until January 6, we won’t be able to celebrate Christmas together.

So, I decided to create a little Christmas spirit in our dorm for the girls…

This is the “KUE Christmas Calendar.” It is administrative, but also a fun “daily look” for the girls with little pop-up folded notes. They can check it each day, but also enjoy the “count-down” to a special Christmas surprise that I have for them after the 12 days are up – which means the end of exams!

I have also assigned each girl to a specific day of Christmas, based on the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Each night before bed, one girl performs their assigned day. So, yesterday, Ha Eun did “the partridge in the pear tree” as we all sang along. By the end of the 12 days, we’ll all perform it together just for kicks 🙂 After googling the 12 days of Christmas, I was delighted to discover that the 12 days actually have significant spiritual meaning. So, I also plan to read the girls a mini-devotional of each one each night.

Yesterday morning, we kicked off our 12 days with overnight cinnamon buns and bagels and a movie in the dorm lounge on the projector. That was a lot of fun, and I think the girls enjoyed just vegging on a Saturday morning, which doesn’t happen much at all during each term.

Here we all are !

So, what do the 12 days of Christmas mean, anyways ? It’s quite interesting…

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

A Partridge in a Pear Tree
- The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . .”
(Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Two Turtle Doves
- The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Three French Hens
- The Three Theological Virtues: 1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Four Calling Birds- The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God’s reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Five Gold Rings
- The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity’s sinful failure and God’s response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Six Geese A-laying
- The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Seven Swans A-swimming
- The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nine Ladies Dancing
- The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,
6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Ten Lords A-leaping
- The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God’s name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Eleven Pipers Piping -
The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Twelve Drummers Drumming
- The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting.