If you’re a purist, today is the 2nd day of Christmas. This means, of course, that your true love should be on the way at some point today with two turtle doves — and possibly a second partridge in a pear tree, depending on how one interprets the song.
There’s a theory out there in the internets that this is a coded primer on theology. There are also multiple places on said internets that dispute this theory and call it hogwash. I’m not going to dive into the debate, but I will say I enjoy the idea behind using it as a mnemonic device for the tenents of faith. (Day two would, under this theory, be the Old and New Testaments.) SO, even if this is made up for the purposes of memeing, it’s still fun.
And, in high school choir, we always had fun singing “The 12 Days After Christmas”, wherein a fed up loved one figures out how to deal with the bird-brained gifts received prior. (That and the PDQ Bach carols were always quite a bit of fun. Particularly “Throw the Yule Log on, Uncle John.”)
Anyway, however you count the days of Christmas and for however long you keep up your decorations, I hope you had a lovely day yesterday full of family and a time celebrating the birth of our Savior.
Winners this Week
If you’re a winner, you should have received an email from the author in charge of the giveaway. If not, please email us at: prizes at inspyromance dot com.
Liwen Ho’s winners were Trixi and Amy Perrault
Lindi Peterson’s winner was JCP
Congratulations!
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Reader Gathering
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StoryChats @ InspyRomance
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Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, Janine Rosche talked about Christmas in Mistletoe Square
On Tuesday: Carolyn Miller shared about new year’s resolutions
On Wednesday, Narelle Atkins talked about Christmas romance reads and re-reads
On Thursday, Tara Grace Ericson reminded us of the greatest story ever written
On Friday, we were closed for Christmas Eve
On Saturday, we were Closed for Christmas
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Merrillee Whren
Tuesday: Jan Thompson
Wednesday: K. Leah
Thursday: Heather Gray
Friday: Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Saturday: Closed for New Year’s Day
New Releases
December 2021
Romanced by the Hero (Heroes of Freedom Ridge 12) by Liwen Y. Ho
Their Unbreakable Bond (Rocky Mountain Family 4) (K9 Companions 1) by Deb Kastner
The Breakup Project (Original Six Hockey Romance 1) by Carolyn Miller
Reclaiming Hope (Independence Islands 18) by Carolyn Miller
Healing Skye (Coastal Hearts) by Janet W Ferguson
No Place Like Home by Amy R Anguish
January 2022
Postcards by Elizabeth Maddrey
Love on Ice (Original Six Hockey Romance 2) by Carolyn Miller
Waiting for Right Now (Finding Home Book 4) by K. Leah
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Find our audiobooks, our permanently free e-books, and our thank-you gifts for newsletter subscribers there as well!
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I love the reply about the 12 days of Christmas where a guy is telling what all the gifts are doing the the person who receives them.
I hope you all had a good Christmas. Mine was quiet but got to watch a couple good movies (got to see White Christmas again).
My tree and other items will stay up til new year the cards probably longer as I know some are still to arrive. I don’t understand some of my friends who love Christmas but the tree and all the decorations have to go down on Christmas night.
Oh wow! I’ve never heard of them coming down on Christmas night. That would be sad to me.
We used to leave ours up until Epiphany, but my eldest’s birthday is the 4th and he sometimes needs them down for party purposes (a gang of boys running free in the house is not super easy with Christmas still up). Now he’s older and our parties tend to be either smaller or not at home so maybe we’ll get back to leaving it up.
Hi Elizabeth. My mother in law always took down the Christmas tree on Dec. 26. As a German, I did not understand it either. In our home we celebrated Christmas from First Advent into the New Year. I am with you, my youngest son’s birthday is Jan. 9 so the tree stays up until is birthday. Even though he no longer lives at home and lives 1900 miles away in Idaho. So blessed to have great sons, who now host family holidays. Christmas Eve celebrated with son # 2 and our 4 year old granddaughter. Yesterday celebrated with son #1, his wife and our 3 oldest grandkids ages 16, 14, and 8. Last Sunday was Grandson Number Two’s 14. Birthday. Merry Christmas to the Inspy Romance Family. Blessings.
How lovely! It sounds like a perfect bunch of celebrating!
We have our tree up for a few days yet, but have to be ready for our carpet to get cleaned early in January, so it will need to be put away soon. We also didn’t do much decorating because of health issues for me, but at least we were able to spend time with our family around here.
Have a Happy New Year!
We have a live tree, so it can only go so long before it loses too many needles. We put it up about 10 days before Christmas, and hubby’s family has always been “out with the old, in with the new” meaning the tree goes out NY Eve! But some years I squeak a few more days out of it. This year, our family Christmas is planned for NY Day (just the way everyone’s schedules worked out) so the tree won’t come down until everything is over.
Hi, we had a very beautiful Christmas Day, it was a pretty warm day here in West Texas, but it was a very nice day. We always wait until after New Years day and after to take our Christmas tree down and the decorations. Have a great day and stay safe. Congratulations to the winners.
Health issues are no fun. :( I’m glad you were still able to be with family.
That makes sense! Live trees definitely add to the clock.
We hit 70 here outside DC, but that’s still nothing compared to what I saw from other Texas friends. But of course, Texas is its own thing :)
I sang the 12 Days After in coir too! Hilarious! Now I have to go find the one Ausjenny talked about it, as I’ve never heard of it either. Two years ago, my dad and I decided to leave the tree up. It didn’t take up much space, and we both loved how the lights lit up the dark corner of the room. Then the world plunged into a darkness of fear, and the tree became a symbol of Jesus’ constant light. We left the tree up, only turning off the lights when we went to bed. As the lightbulbs burned out, my sister bought new strings of lights to weave into the branches. It cheered us and anyone who dropped by.
Love that! I know Mandi Blake left here up all year this past year. I used to have a friend who had two trees up all year and would redecorate them monthly.
I hadn’t either til I joined an online forum (before FB) I was in a group of other Christian women even got to meet some in America and a couple other Aussies. One lady from Tx loves Christmas but on Christmas night its always Christmas is over for another year and tree and decorations are all put away. I found it really strange and sad. Then found others do the same. Mine will be up til at least NYE normally or even later sometimes depends if we get a heat wave. One year the tree came down earlier due to it crashing and breaking a few ornaments and not being able to stand up again.
To me its like many cut anything Christmas of by Christmas night Here the week Christmas to New Year is often slower (not as slow as it use to be) but many people will have most of the week off (In the country we don’t have the shops all open on Boxing day so this year cos Christmas and Boxing day were on the weekend they the official holiday is Monday and Tuesday) So here besides the supermarkets there are not many things open til Wednesday and many shops being small business owners will be shut til Jan 4 (Monday 3 is a public holiday for New Year). Some will stay closed an extra week. (Factories, manufacturing etc) Schools are on holiday til the end of Jan.
Here is a link but I have to warn you there are a few cuss words (not the f word) but it is so funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQkF7fpw-wI
Our tree will stay up until Jan. 1st or 2nd depending on which of those days we want to take it down. I like having it down sooner than later to celebrate a new year in the making (out with the old, in with the new).
I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas day!
I have years when I want it down quickly. Sometimes it all feels a bit much.
We take down all the decorations on New Years Day. Not nearly as much fun as putting them up.
Ha. No. No matter when it’s take down time it’s not as fun as putting up
My tree and decorations will stay up until after New Years day. After that, it just depends on when I get around to putting them away.
I’ve never heard of that version!
Hope you had a great day too! :)
I always felt the Twelve Days of Christmas was a song that was never going to end. Thank you so much for sharing. I remember singing it in school. God bless you.
Ironically where I am it was only hit a high of 76 so was a perfect day for Christmas
That’s a great song