Happy Epiphany Day!

Today, we celebrate the last day of the Christmas Season, Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, as is known in some cultures. This is also the 12th day of Christmas. Epiphany celebrates the day Jesus was visited by the three kings (or three wiseman) who had observed a star that foretold he was king of the Jews. The story is not told in Luke but in Matthew…

They set out; and there ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek word whcih means something that is manifested. In France and now in the United States, some celebrate this day with a golden-crowned King Cake in which is concealed a trinket or small baby Jesus. The tradition is that whomever finds the trinket is given the crown and is “king” for the day. The French galette de rois is a flaky, delicious pastry and can be purchased at French bakeries, including La Madeleine.

And so ends another Christmas. It was a difficult year but there is always hope. I hope next Christmas we will no longer be in a pandemic and can resume the in-person joys of the Christmas season.

Epiphany marks the final post of the year on The Cool Yule Blog. It is has been my pleasure to celebrate the winter holidays with you. I wish you excellent health and happiness in 2021. Please join me for articles on goal-setting and self-care on my Best Life blog. I begin writing about fall and Halloween celebrations in September at Autumn in Virginia. I hope to see you back here in November for new articles and events posted on the Cool Yule Blog. Take care and thank you for reading.

 

Advertisement

Tagged: Epiphany