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42 Phonebox Magazine | February 2025Newport Pagnell (CTNP)We fi nd ourselves in a strange time of the year. The days are slowly getting longer, if not warmer and if you are, like me, near a river, the ground around us is truly soaked through and regularly fl ooded. But I fi nd that period around the end of winter and into spring to be a time of great hope.Yes, your New Year%u2019s resolutions might be long gone, and your desire to eat less and exercise more, might be paused until Lent maybe. But spring brings great hope. I collect some rare fl owers, many of which are diff erent types of snowdrops. Most people don%u2019t know that there are over 500 diff erent varieties of snowdrop, and each has a very small diff erence to the other. To the untrained or uninitiated, a snowdrop looks like a snowdrop. I collect them, although many can be very expensive, so I don%u2019t own anywhere near the 500-plus varieties available.This time of year is the world of the snowdrop. The toughest and hardiest of the spring fl owers it is the fi rst to arise after winter%u2019s frost and fl ood. I%u2019ve seen the tips growing into leaves and buds of the fl owers bursting into their white blooms (although you can get yellow and green). This sign of a fl ower after the winter gives me great hope. Soon the daffodils, crocus, muscari and tulips will follow, and then with the warmth of spring the lawn starts growing and my small garden really starts to come to life. The spring will bring nesting birds to the garden; this year I have bought a nestbox with a camera, hoping to get a glimpse of nesting bluetits or great tits. And all of this is signposted by the emergence of my friends the snowdrops.It reminds me of a Bible verse:%u201cAs long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,summer and winter, day and night will never cease.%u201d (Genesis 8:22)The seasons come and go, there are times to plant and times to harvest, times of dark and cold and times of warm long evenings. And every now and then in life, we can see the promise that a hard, cold time is coming to an end. This is the promise of the snowdrop. I look forward to seeing my collection of snowdrops, not just to see what has survived the winter and the dreaded snowdrop fl y, but also because it tells of warmer lighter times coming. If you are in a hard time personally, look for the things that might indicate that times are changing and there is hope and a promise that it isn%u2019t always cold and dark. Maybe pray and ask God for a sign of a movement out of a time of struggle and into a diff erent season. Look out for things in our lives that might give you the hope of a snowdrop.Peter Young, Pastor, Newport Pagnell Baptist Church.Olney Baptist ChurchOur country seems to be falling into dire times as the economy reels, dreadful corruption is exposed in state and church hierarchies, and our young have been betrayed by those who should have been caring for and nurturing them. So it%u2019s encouraging that there are clear signs of reformation and restoration at the beginning of this new year, 2025. For starters, last year saw a twenty-two-per-cent increase in the number of Bibles sold world-wide, and fi gures reveal that Christianity continues to grow quietly and steadily with its message of love and salvation. It has been estimated that there will be three billion Christians by 2050. So, as we come to the end of the Christmas season, we can take its message of new birth and restoration into our lives and face the future confi dently.Personally, I had a lovely Christmas Day, with members of the family gathered around the piano singing %u2018The Twelve Days of Christmas.%u2019 We each sang one of the days %u2013 I was responsible for the four calling birds %u2013 and everybody belted out %u2018Five Gold Rings!%u2019 The twelve days of Christmas are from Christmas Day to January 5, Epiphany Eve, or Twelfth Night. Epiphany, which begins on January 6, has always been special for Christians because it commemorates the arrival of the magi to worship the baby, Jesus, so it is the fi rst revelation of Christ to Gentiles.In Eastern Christendom, Christmas festivities go on to Candlemas, February 2 this year. Candlemas commemorates Mary and Joseph taking the baby Jesus to the temple for the ritual presentation of the fi rstborn son. At the temple was a devout, elderly Jew, Simeon, to whom God revealed that Jesus was the Messiah. Simeon took the baby into his arms and said what has come to be known as the Nunc Dimittis, %u2018Now let me depart.%u2019 He was ready to die because he had seen the salvation that God had promised. Simeon said the baby would be the glory of his people, Israel, and %u2018the light to lighten the Gentiles.%u2019 From these words Candlemas is derived because on the day that it is remembered, His early gentile followers used to take all their candles to church to be blessed for the coming year. Whenever they lit one, they would remember that the light of Christ had come into their lives.If you%u2019re wondering about the song, %u2018Twelve Days of Christmas,%u2019 apparently the words were a secret code sung by Catholics when they were persecuted in the sixteenth century. The meanings are: First day of Christmas, Partridge in a Pear Tree, Jesus. Two French hens, the two testaments. Three turtle doves, faith, hope and love. Four calling birds, the four gospels. Five gold rings, the fi rst fi ve books of the Bible. Six geese a-laying, six days of creation. Seven swans a-swimming, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Eight maids a-milking, the eight who were blessed in the Sermon on the Mount. Nine ladies dancing, fruit of the Holy Spirit. Ten lords a-leaping, the Ten Commandments. Eleven pipers piping, the eleven true disciples. Twelve drummers drumming, the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles%u2019 Creed.A Good Candlemas to you all!Beryl Lavender, Olney author and member of the parish of St Peter and St PaulChurches TogetherDo you need help with your wedding stationery?Come and see us at Olney Wedding Fair on Sunday 9th March, at the Olney Centre between 10am and 3pm. We%u2019d be delighted to help you plan your special day!Call Sarah on: 01234 713 298 %u2022 Email us: info@orchard.press Visit us: Unit 2, Stanley Court, Olney, Bucks, MK46 5NHBring your ideas to life with our help.