Twelfth Day - and Twelfth Night

Today is the twelfth and final day of Christmas. For some, it will end with feasting, music, dancing, and theater at Twelfth Night festivities. The festival cakes will chose a king, a queen, and a fool for an evening. It has been a part of Western culture for a thousand years.

This is an important day: it marks the end of a long festival celebrating the birth of Christ, it is the eve of Epiphany, and the beginning of the carnival season ending in Mardi Gras. I trust you have experienced a wonderful Christmas season, and will live throughout this year in the spirit of Twelfth Night, finding joy and happiness even in this topsy-turvy world. In the words of William Shakespeare,

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
Twelfth Night (Act II, Scene V)