5 Quick Things #392 đ
French hens, online âcommunitiesâ, game nights, & tree takedowns
Hi there,
Happy 2026, and a very merry ninth day of Christmas todayâI hope youâre still celebrating! We returned from Oregon a few days ago and have since hit the ground running with home renovations and my oldest sonâs birthday (I now have more adult children than children-children đľ), so this will be a short one.
Hope your holidays have been just what youâve needed!
5 Quick Things âď¸
1. Itâs definitely not too late to reflect on 2025 and think about the year aheadâuse my annual reflection questions if you need some prompts. I legitimately use them every year, and take about a week or two to fully meditate on what was, what is, and what may be.
2. Some say that the earwormy song âThe Twelve Days of Christmasâ was originally written as a catechism for young Catholics during the English era when they were not allowed to practice their faith openly. The jury is still out on whether thatâs accurate, but nonetheless, the supposed meaning behind each of the gifts is interesting (I mean, Iâm not exactly looking for three French hens on December 27). âŚIâm a bigger fan of the Faroe Islands version, myself.
3. I completely agree with Amber Adrianâs take on the facsimile offering of âonline communityâ and feel less and less cautious about saying so as the years march on.
4. If youâre not feeling the energy to keep on keeping on with the twelve days of Christmas, a host of writers at Liturgy of Ours share their familyâs traditions on how they keep all of Christmastide. We keep it super-simple with movie-watching, game nights, leisurely mornings when possible, and lots of neighborhood walks. (It helps so much when you havenât already ODâd on Christmas during Advent.)
5. And finally, I loved this short reflection from Fr. Mike Schmitz on his five-year anniversary of the release of the Bible in a Year podcast. What amazing fruit has come from it!
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening đ
From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, by Arthur C. Brooks1
Quotable đŹ
âFor last yearâs words belong to last yearâs language And next yearâs words await another voice.â
- T.S. Eliot
When do you take down your Christmas tree? đ˛
Iâm actually pleasantly surprised at how many of yâall wait until Epiphany to take down your Christmas tree, which is the correct minimum date of said ritual (although âso crispy it begs for mercyâ is an understandable exception). Weâve had an artificial tree for about five years now, and weâre going full-tilt into the liturgical calendar this year and doing our best to keep it up until Candlemas (which Iâm pleased to see almost eleven percent of you do as well).
Weâll take down the ornaments and leave it with just lights, but Iâm happy for any excuse to keep the festiveness at home alive and well, especially during the blergh days of of January. If you havenât yet done the deed, join in on the tradition! See what you think.
January 6 / Epiphany: 46.3%
Sometime between December 25 & January 1: 14.4%
January 1: 13.7%
When itâs so crispy it begs for mercy: 12.5%
February 2 / Candlemas: 10.7%
December 26: 2.3%
Find the next poll here.
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Question(s) For You to Ponder⌠đ¤
What expectation can you let go of for this first week of 2026?
Have a great week,
- Tsh
p.s. - Same.
Iâve hesitated to read this for several years now, thinking it was a book for someone more in my parentsâ demographicâuntil I realized that, gulp, I am nearing the second half of my life. What? 𤯠(Also, so far the book is excellent.)