Some people begin decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving...they are so eager for the season! No matter how you approach that schedule, our Christmas calendars can be aligned through the use of the 12 days of Christmas. Sure, there's the well-known song with drummers and dancers and five gold ring. But the 12 days of Christmas for many Christians falls deliberately among two key dates, Christmas Day (December 25) and Epiphany (the visit of the wise men, also thought of as the Gentiles' Christmas, January 6).
So, perhaps Christmas decorations stay up through Epiphany each year as you let the Christmas joy linger in your heart and mind through these two Christian festival dates! Use this devotional tool by Martin Luther College (it's several years old, but the truth is unchanged!) in your home and rejoice that Christ is born to us!