3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Love, the Theological Virtues
Thursday, most of my family arrived. The only member who was absent was Lauren; she could not take time off from work. Nevertheless, Thursday was Christmas for me and the rest of us. They started arriving shortly after lunch. Connie and Steven, Elizabeth and Earl and JP drove here from Western Tennessee. Thursday afternoon, we opened our presents. We had a big laugh because Elizabeth gave me a key chain digital picture frame and I gave her the same thing. What was really funny was that both of us told Connie about our gifts so she already knew we were exchanging the same thing.
Thursday night we went to Franklin to my brother's daughter's house for our meal. Our time together there was very nice and full of laughter. We repeated of tradition of "dirty Santa" gift exchanges. I ended up with a very appropriate gift: a Starbucks Coffee set. The coffee is actually very good. I generally do not like coffee here in the US. Most of the time, it is just coffee tea.
I should mention something about my use of the Twelve Days of Christmas and the theological interpretation I give to each. They are not my own. There is some disagreement about the origin of these associations (i.e., that 3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Love). I do not really believe that these associations have anything to do with the origin of the song. However, I use them because they do remind me of important elements of my beliefs. The Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love are so central to my life that it is hard to imagine living in the absence of them. To be sure, I have struggled with each of these virtues. My Faith is in constant flux. My Hope is easily shaken by life events. My Love is often illusive, fleeing from my presence. However, as with French Hens that do not fly very far, the three Virtues are never very fly too far from me.
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