Family in Feast and Feria

In the illustration above a threefold manifestation of the divinity of Christ is commemorated: The Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit proclaim it at the baptism in the Jordan, the Magi recognize it by their tribute, and Christ Himself manifests it by showing His divine power over nature at the wedding at Cana. Shining over them all is the miraculous star. (From With Christ Through the Year: The Liturgical Year in Word and Symbols by Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.)

Epiphany is such a rich feast day, with so many levels of possible meditation. I don't have time today to enter the deep levels, but I'm just sharing some of our family traditions.

Our family celebrates Epiphany with my parents and all my siblings (5 that are local) and their families coming together for dinner. We usually have lasagna. I usually make a New Orleans King Cake (not stuffed), and this year I may also try this allergy free cake. We always invite a priest to come and do the house blessing. Over the years we've had different priests, but now we have a dear friend who loves our tradition and makes it priority to come every year.

We use blessed chalk to mark over the doors 20 + C + M + B + 07, The CMB stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat--May Christ Bless this House. They are also the initials of the three wise men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Father walks around the house sprinkling with holy water, we all sing "We Three Kings."

At first when we didn't have many kids, the dads were the 3 Kings. Now that the children are older, we are trying to get them more involved. Some craft projects are making crowns for all the kings (and since the Bible doesn't say an exact number, you can have as many as you want). Kingly robes would be fun to have, too.

This year I bought some little treasure boxes in the unfinished wood section of the Craft Store, 3 different kinds. I plan on painting/staining and having one for each gold, frankincense, and myrrh, perhaps lining the boxes with fabric. It all depends on the time frame. I was hoping to buy an censor and have one of the boys incense in front of Father while blessing the house...the incense being frankincense and myrrh scented, of course.

Of course, we read books. Legend of Old Befana by Tomie dePaola, Story of the Three Wise Kings by dePaola. There are other Christmas stories we still read, but these cover the Wise Men. I also found Hurrah for Three King's Day by Lori Marie Carlson at my library that helped give an idea of Hispanic traditions.



We also enthrone the Christ Child. I have a small doll that we use as baby Jesus. On Christmas we process and place him in the manger, singing Silent Night and with some lighted candles and prayers. On Epiphany he has a small crown, a red cloak with gold trim, lights around the manger, gold fabric around. The Christ Child no longer looks poor, but we get a glimpse of his Kingship. The Advent Wreath has gold candles and festive ribbons.

I have a little House Blessing Ceremony which includes the blessing of chalk and the home. If you write to me at jennifergmillerNOSPAM AT gmail dot com (removing NO SPAM and spaces, replacing with AT symbol and dot, of course), I can send a Word file to you.

I "discovered" some other "Wise Men" Christmas carols in my song books that I can't wait to teach to my family. So besides "The First Noel" and "We Three Kings" here are some other carols to find. I've starred my two favorites that will be easy to sing.

• There Were Three Kings (De Drie Koningen) Traditional Flemish
  
• He Is Born (W Zlobie Lezy) Polish, Thirteenth Century
  
• Twelfth Night Song, Traditional Russian
  
• *Melchior and Balthazar (Melchoir et Balthazar) A French round from Bas-Languedoc
  
• Brightest and Best (Star of the East) United States Folk Hymn
  
• *March of the Kings (La Marche Des Rois) 13th Century Provencal Carol
  
• Song of the Wise Men (De Tierra Lejana Venimos) Traditional Puerto Rican

May your family have a blessed Epiphany and enjoy the end of the Christmas season.