On the Twelfth Day of Christmas …

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me –

Twelve drummers drumming.

I bring you drummers from South Korea, which is appropriate. It’s September, and they’re celebrating Chuseok, which is a sort of secular Harvest Festival. But it fills the place in the calendar that Christmas does here. It’s a time to spend with family and friends, to exchange gifts, and generally to have a good time. Bring on the drummers and dancers!

Chuseok at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, September 2016

There are moments when you have no fewer, and no more than twelve drummers before you. But you’ll have to keep your wits about you.

And that’s it. The end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Tonight’s the time to take down the tree, tidy away cards and decorations … till next year. It’s all over unless you’re Spanish, or from a range of Latin American countries, in which case you’ll be celebrating El Dia de los Reyes, or Los Reyes Magos, when the Three Kings visited the infant Jesus. A great excuse for a party!

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

52 thoughts on “On the Twelfth Day of Christmas …”

  2. Weren’t they having fun! As have you with the series, Margaret. You’ve impressed and entertained us all. We’re a bit under the weather here – all coughs and splutters- so I’ll be taking the tree down in a very desultory way. We’ve dipped out of our group walk this morning but I’d quite like to pop over to Ayamonte to see a bit of the action in Spain. We never get the time and date right!

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    1. Poor you But it’s just the same here. Sneezes and diseases everywhere. But if you’re well enough to pop over to Spain this evening, that would be fun. Not a ‘thing’ in Portugal?

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      1. The riverside town Vila Real de S. Antonio usually hosts the kings for a parade round before they hop the ferry back to Spain, but we usually manage to miss them. Information on such events here can be scanty, so it’s pot luck!

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  7. Well you certainly ended on a bang not a whimper! To be honest I prefer the pipers!! And that’s saying something. But drummers you gave us so well done you. Your entire series has been a blast. So much better thought out than mine. Back to normal now – though in my case it is just a matter of taking the few cards down. Enjoy 2023 Margaret – any travel plans?

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    1. Oh, I loved the drummers and pennant-swirlers, though it was probably the cheerful atmosphere that got to us. We both done good in different ways this year. Shall we give it another whirl next Christmas. Next outing? A wedding in Spain. My daughter’s sister-not-in-law and her partner of 20 years. April. You?

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      1. I did enjoy the pennant swirlers! And it has been a lot of fun these past 12 days. A wedding in Spain sounds good. We’ve nothing planned, but I am getting desperate to travel somewhere!

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  9. You’ve done really well in finding the right photos for each day, and it’s great to end with a bit of a ‘drum roll’ 😀 Yes, all over for another year, although thanks to the postal strikes cards are still trickling through our letter box. We’ll take our decorations down tomorrow – my mother always claimed the 6th as Twelfth Night and although these days I believe she was a day late, I still keep up the family tradition of leaving them until then!

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    2. Your mother and mine both! And yes, I doubt if the last Christmas card has arrived yet. It’s been fun, the 12 days of Christmas. I wonder if I could do it again next year, maybe with a few hardy souls joining un too?

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  10. Twelve drummers drumming. Nicely done. I loved how you carried this theme to the finish and were able to find photographs to fit each day. I came home last night and the talk in the car on the way home was taking down the lights and the tree…. the outdoor lights might be tricky as it snowed early this morning, but we will turn them off anyway. Which reminds me of the early days of the COVID lockdown when folks put up lights to shine a light on the world in a very dark time. Have a wonderful day and Peace.

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  11. Days of Christmas done, tree is down and house is swept clean. On to Lunar New Year now, because any excuse for a bit of cheer!

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  12. Pingback: On the Twelfth day | Two Cameras - Two Views

    1. This was an unexpected treat which we just happened upon, so we didn’t have the best view. It was an arena, so largely in the round. It was fabulous and the atmosphere was out of this world.

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  19. The colours of the costumes are glorious and the whole event looks suitably festive. It is hard to believe another Christmas is well and truly over and we are already so far into the first month of the New Year!

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