12 days of an Eco Christmas #day 11

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…Eleven Pipers Piping!

As you get further into this song, I always find it is hard to know when to take a breath with the long list of gifts! The last of the days of gifts are centered about gifts of entertainment and music, starting with the ladies dancing and now the pipers piping whereas the previous verses were more about things you could have at a feast from a partridge to geese and swans. When thinking about the pipers, I can’t help bit think of a glorious sound of Scottish bagpipes that has a sound of royalty and grandeur.

In the Christian background to this song, the eleven pipers piping are representative of the eleven faithful apostles. These were original twelve disciples minus Judas who betrayed Jesus. They were Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas bar James. It is throught that their faithfulness that the teachings of Christ changed the world at extreme costs to themselves. The gift of the pipers piping is for laying the foundations for the early Christian church.

For an Eco inspired gift, there are so many ideas that use Scottish tartan. It is thanks to the Celts that Tartan is so popular for Christmas from their clothing using this weave in the winter months. I love the red colours and always brings some festive warmth. Buying authentic Scottish tartan like this lambswool scarf makes a lovely gift that is using natural sustainable fibers. You could even use it a Japenese Furoshiki to wrap another gift! I also really like this tartan heat wheat bag as an Eco gift from the local Hitchin Lavender farm, supporting a local business with a purchase (they also give free delivery to locals). With just a little bit of creative thought there are many gifts using tartan fabric and budgets, even Walkers shortbread are a lovely gift too in a recyclable card box or reusable biscuit tin.