'Tots' drive celebrates community
CAROLINE LOBSINGER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 3 months AGO
I grew up in the Tri-Cities, Wash., and have always loved to write. I attended the University of Washington, where I earned a double major in journalism and political science, with an area of emphasis in history. I am the fifth out of six kids — don't believe any of the stories that my siblings tell. To be able to tell others stories and take photos for a living is a dream come true — and I considered myself blessed to be a community journalist. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, hiking and spending time outdoors, genealogy, reading, and watching the UW Huskies and the Seattle Seahawks. I am a servant to my cat, Frankie, who yes, will eat anything and everything in sight … even wedding cookies. | January 1, 2020 12:00 AM
SANDPOINT — While Christmas Day is officially over, the 12 days of Christmas are still in full swing.
But what are the 12 Days of Christmas, you ask. Beyond a chance to celebrate focus even more attention on all that is good and wonderful in the world, a chance to celebrate the reason behind the season and to, maybe, extend that joy and magic just a little bit longer in a world where it’s all too easy to focus on the negative.
Regardless of what they are (more on that in a moment), I’m just glad there are 12 — more days to celebrate the goodness of the world, more days to remember what’s really important in life, more days, well, to celebrate Christmas.
According to whychristmas.com, the 12 Days of Christmas have been around since before the Middle Ages. Beginning on Dec. 25 — Christmas Day — the website notes that the 12 days continue until Jan. 5, also known as the Twelfth Night.
A time of celebration, the 12 days each mark a feast day for a saint and/or have different celebrations.
The days are, the website, explains:
- Day 1 (Dec. 25) — Christmas Day celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
Day 2 (Dec. 26) — St. Stephen’s Day celebrates the first Christian martyr.
Day 3 (Dec. 27) — The day pays tribute to St John the Apostle.
Day 4 (Dec. 28) — The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a day when people remember the baby boys killed when King Herod was trying to find and kill the infant Jesus.
Day 5 (Dec. 29) — St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century, who was killed in 1170 for challenging the king’s authority over the church.
Day 6 (Dec. 30) — The day pays tribute to St. Egwin of Worcester.
Day 7 (Dec. 31) — The day honors Pope Sylvester I, one of the earliest popes (in the 4th century).
Day 8 (Jan. 1) — The day honors Mary, the mother of Jesus
Day 9 (Jan. 2) — The day honors St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, two important 4th century Christians.
Day 10 (Jan. 3) — Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus recalls when Jesus was officially “named” in the Jewish temple.
Day 11 (Jan. 4) — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Day 12 (Jan. 5, also known as Epiphany Eve) — The day pays tribute to St. John Neumann, who was the first Bishop in America.
Whether you are a person of faith or not, having more days to practice the spirit of Christmas is very much a good thing.
So kick back and enjoy the holiday a little bit longer and if you want to keep going past the 12 days, I say go for it — and maybe drop a little something into the Sandpoint Lions Club’s annual Toys for Tots drive so they can keep the season going and ensure Christmas 2020 is a merry one for all.
Today’s sole donation is a $10 anonymous donation, bringing the total to $38,783.94 — short of the Sandpoint Lions’ goal of $50,000.
The Lions make the most of the money by shopping bargains, and with the assistance of generous local businesses. The Toys for Tots program provides free new toys for children living in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in-between.
Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118
Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.
MORE FRONT-PAGE-SLIDER STORIES
12 days of Christmas; 12 chances to help 'Tots'
Bonner County Daily Bee | Updated 3 months, 2 weeks ago
ARTICLES BY CAROLINE LOBSINGER
Volunteers help Healing Garden bloom
Community key to keeping garden a peaceful oasis
Among the roughly half-dozen volunteers getting Bonner General Health's Healing Garden ready for the season was Sharon McCormick, dressed warmly against the chilly spring morning.
Concerns bring hundreds to Saturday protest
Concerns ran the gamut — health care, Social Security, veteran support — as roughly 800 people turned out Saturday for the local iteration of the national "Hands Off" protest. While organized by Sandpoint Indivisible and the local chapter of 50501, a grassroots political movement, the event spanned a four-block area near the Bonner County Courthouse with supporters on both sides of the street — and throughout the political spectrum.
The Write Stuff
Sandpoint Writers announce contest winners, celebrating writing
The Sandpoint Writers on the Lake's annual writing contest, held March 22, attracted people of all ages to the Sandpoint library community rooms. There the roughly 80 to 90 people who turned up to listen to the several dozen works were tasked with judging the participating writers who read for five minutes from their own unpublished works.