On the Second Day of Christmas

So today is the second day of Christmas and I'm grateful that I don't have a partridge or a pear tree in my home.  Our house is TOO full as it is.  Once again, another year goes by and we gave AND received TOO much.  It's embarassing really.  A toy tornado swept through our house and we are in total disarray.  We are bagging up broken toys, games with missing pieces, puzzles with missing pieces, etc. to throw away.  We are giving away toys, stuffed animals and unread books.  It's a good feeling, but somehow it's not enough.  My house is a wreck and I pray it returns to it's semi organized state SOON!!!

So enough of that rabbit trail.  Two turtle doves...here is some interesting facts about the turtle dove.  I wanted to share it with you today.

Doves are a common symbol for love and peace, two Christmas themes. Turtle doves are a common species of dove found in France and England and they were often kept in cages as pets during the Middle Ages and earlier. There are a number of references to doves in the Bible. Turtle doves also migrate to warmer climates in winter and their re-appearance heralds the approach of spring. The turtle dove is species that mates for life, so the giving of two turtle doves could be a way the lover is expressing his intention of love and marriage.

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance England it was common to celebrate the full Christmas season with parties, feasts and the giving of gifts during the twelve days of Christmas. In this carol we see the giving of gifts, references to food that would be included in the feasts and the courting that surely went on as the coming together of large groups of people, especially young and single men and women, provided the perfect opportunity to seek one's future mate.
While the other six birds sung about in the first seven stanzas of this song probably ended up on the table as one of the meat courses, the turtle doves would have been delivered to one's lover live and in a cage to be kept as pets for enjoyment. In selecting these particular birds, and a pair at that, the lover probably also intended them as a daily reminder of his desire to become a couple with his true love.

What a beautiful thought a gift for your love representing your commitment for life.  I am blessed to have a lover that is faithful to the covenant promise that he made to God and to me.  We are turtle doves.  I pray that as the season of Christmas continues that I can show Nathan my undying love and that I can reassure his heart that I am his, completely and forever. 

I'm still celebrating and I hope you are too.  Here's to a love that's made possible only because of Jesus.

Merry Christmas,

Janelle