HAPPY Christmas. My family and I have been lucky enough to visit the Bolton Abbey estate this week, where there is a children’s trail on the theme of the twelve days of Christmas. Each of the stages of the trail depicts one of the daily gifts received by the singer’s beloved in the song. In today’s world where the Christmas decorations seem to go up, and the preparations begin ever earlier each year, many people seem sick of it all by New Year and pack everything away. This is often also a time for resolutions that frequently involve trying to amend the guilt of seasonal excess, perhaps by taking out or renewing a gym membership, going on a diet, or drastically cutting back on spending (of course, the sales are drawing to a close already, as many stores fired their starting guns even before Christmas). With the return to work or school just around the corner, and no great promise of decent weather, it’s small wonder many people find this time of year depressing.

But it needn’t be this way. The song, The Twelve Days of Christmas shows us that at its heart Christmas centres on a gift which keeps on giving. God loves us all so much that he became one of us, to give us the greatest gift of all – the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life. No matter what we have done, nothing can separate us from God’s love: his forgiveness will never stop. It is continually poured out for us day by day, just as the song-writer’s true love keeps giving gifts.

So don’t be discouraged or downhearted as thoughts turn towards the end of the holidays and the return to routines. Celebrate as much as you can for the full twelve days of Christmas: God knows you’re worth it. That’s why He sent His Son.