RHYS BOWEN: Since today is going to be such a stressful one for many of us in the US (and if you don't know why I'm not going to tell you). I thought I'd focus on calmer and more meaningful subjects.
Today, January 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany in the Christian tradition. It is the day when the three kings/wise men/magi came to visit the baby Jesus, having followed a star to the stable where he was born. It is symbolic of all the nations coming to realize the importance of this birth. It is a big feast in all branches of the Christian religion, celebrated more in other countries than in the US.
We were once in Mexico City for Christmas and on January 6 the streets were full of men going around in threes, wearing three kings masks--great big masks, handing out candies to children.
We have a French friend who always makes a gateau du roi (a king cake) in which there is a tiny plastic baby baked inside. In other cultures its's an almond, a little less gruesome than potentially swallowing a baby. Whoever has it in their slice is blessed for the coming year.
In England the evening before Epiphany is Twelfth Night, the official last night of the Christmas festivities. In days of yore there would have been feasting for all twelve days (remembering that the diets were pretty plain for the rest of the year so that things like raisins, sugar, and especially goose or turkey were absolute luxuries, enjoyed once a year).
And a small side note of interest. The Partridge in the pear tree in the old song of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a miss-heard translation. The French word for partridge, is une perdriche. . So the song really says A partridge (une perdriche). which I suppose sounds like a pear tree??
Epiphany is the day when the Christmas decorations are supposed to come down. I remember being in Germany once as a girl and on Twelfth Night they let the candles on the tree burn right down until they died one by one and the room was in darkness. So symbolic.
Mine are usually put away before this as we head out to Arizona the first week in January. This year mine are staying up until January 20. I wonder why? Actually I've been enjoying the twinkling lights around my living room on gloomy evenings. I may even leave them up until Valentine's Day and then hang hearts on the tree.
So do you have any traditions for this day in your cultural heritage? And I don't know if you can read the words on my irreverent drawing...
Tradition is indeed a wonderful part of the holiday season and, although we do not have a particular tradition for Epiphany, I’m not certain we’re completely devoid of Christmas traditions . . . despite a propensity for presents and Santa Claus, we generally find the church filled for Christmas Eve candlelight services . . . .
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed Christmas Eve candlelight services, too, Joan. They're lovely and uplifting.
DeleteI am not a Christian so I did not know much about the importance of Epiphany, so thanks for the explanation, Rhys.
ReplyDeleteSince I live in Ottawa (Ontario) and close to Quebec (cross the bridge and you are in Gatineau), all the French bakeries also sell the "galette des rois" (King Cake) to celebrate Epiphany.
And yes, this Canadian does know the importance of this January 6 in the US. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!
The Quebec "galette des rois" is quite different from the NOLA King Cake which I remember as being a yeasty, cinnamon-roll style cake decorated with the green, yellow and purple icing/topping.
DeleteThe Quebec (and Ottawa) version of galette des rois is a simple puff pastry with an almond paste filling, and not decorated at all;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake#/media/File:Galette_des_rois.jpg
Epiphany doesn't mean anything to me. My personal tradition is putting everything away by New Year's Eve so I can start the year fresh.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pear tree explanation! I love reinterpretations in languages. One spot of good news has already come in from yesterday. I'm taking it as a good omen.
And I love the drawing - and the caption!
DeleteThanks for explaining Epiphany - didn't know what it was, but heard it mentioned before. Crossing fingers.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering about a plastic 'baby' baked in a cake - wouldn't it melt? I think the almond is a much better choice.
ReplyDeleteEver since my youngest son was born on New Year's eve it has been my tradition that Christmas is over so that day is all his. Bad enough being born so close to Christmas but it is good he didn't arrive on that day as the doctor had predicted.
My birthday is December 23, so let me say thank you on your son's behalf. Birthdays right at Christmas are difficult, especially for children.
DeleteIrwin's daughter's birthday is on December 15, almost always during Hanukkah. We have always been vigilant about celebrating her birthday as an event itself. Her husband has a Jan. 1 birthday, so we are sure to make a big celebration of that one, too. So, Susan and Judi, I get it!
DeleteGood point about the baby, Judy. It doesn't melt, but I suspect that plastic outgasses in the heat of the oven.
DeleteEw.
Judi, this explanation is given about the plastic trinket on Wikipedia:
DeleteAs beans and porcelain figures became replaced with plastic babies, many bakers have recently been placing the baby outside of the cake, and leaving the hiding to the customer. This is also because there is a potential of customers choking on or swallowing the baby, and bakers want to stay clear of this liability.
Thank you for that, Grace!
DeleteThat's perfect, Grace.
DeleteEpiphany has always marked when we took our Christmas decorations down, going back to when I was a little girl. It was something I started with The Hubby (whose family always took their decorations down right away) after we got married. Although I usually do the weekend after Epiphany, which will be this weekend (too much happening in the week). Which is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the actually liturgical end of the Christmas season, which works out nicely.
ReplyDeleteI remember being in the USVI for Epiphany in 1996. The parade was huge - all sorts of characters handing out sweets. Then again, people in the USVI had a parade for any reason. It was rather fun to watch.
No Epiphany traditions here, but thanks for sharing, Rhys. And yes, I could read the words--love your drawing AND the sentiment!
ReplyDeleteI, too, had noted the odd pairing of today's political events and the feast of Epiphany. And I, too, prefer to focus on the one steeped in tradition and where we already know the ending.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that American culture has claimed Christmas as a primarily secular observance, I think many families and churches have kept traditional observances alive. Most of the traditions you cited were familiar to me, because someone in my life at some time has observed them.
I always liked the idea of taking down the decorations on Epiphany, but as a practical matter I actually did it on New Year's Day because it was a reliable time when I could. This year I put it off, kind of thinking I would wait for Epiphany. Last night we decided it is waiting until this weekend.
We leave the decorations up till Epiphany and my husband's Russian Orthodox Christmas (tonight/tomorrow).
ReplyDeleteKing Cake! I'll have to hunt some down for curbside pickup. Time to throw some Mardi Gras beads around the house.
As a child in Puerto Rico, I loved Three Kings Day. The night before, my sister, two younger brothers and I would run out onto the lawn and gather grass that we would then carefully place in empty shoe boxes. The grass was for the Three Kings' camels, who would be very hungry after their long trip (don't ask me why the Three Kings and their camels were detouring through Puerto Rico). We'd leave the shoe boxes outside our bedroom doors, and in the morning, as if by magic, the grass was gone and in each shoe box was a gift from the Three Kings!
ReplyDeleteThe Puerto Rican community in Hartford usually has a huge celebration with a parade and camels. It's difficult for a small community to keep traditions, but if there are sufficient numbers and a friendly city, much is possible.
DeleteAmy, that is the sweetest tradition!
DeleteAWw..I never knew about that. So sweet. Amy, did you see that you are the winner of Jane Cleland's book? Email me at h ryan at whdh dot com with your address!
DeleteAmy-I love to hear this. In Venice they put out straw for St Lucia’s donkey in December
DeleteNorth America does have religious traditions, going back centuries. Most Americans don't celebrate them, because Native peoples are trivialized.
ReplyDeleteWe had processions and other celebrations in my Catholic childhood, but they have almost all fallen away. I was reminded of them when we were in Italy together, Rhys, and the whole town came out to process up and down the street with new Communicants to celebrate Corpus Christi. I'll never forget that colorful day, but found myself sad to know we Americans rarely do such a thing.
Thanks for helping us all to remain firmly cheerful. We need all the help we can get right now!
I also remember those processions from my Catholic childhood, Karen. And the white dresses that were always required for them! I don't miss the theology (escaped Catholic here) but I do miss the rituals.
DeleteThank you for standing up for the Native people, Karen.
DeleteYes, those white dresses, Chris!
DeleteSame here, with the theology. But even today the rituals are comforting.
When I was a student in Freiburg, Germany the Corpus Christi procession was amazing and the whole town took part
DeleteI first became aware of upper-case-e Epiphany studying art history. So many great medieval and renaissance paintings.
ReplyDeleteWe are Catholic, and we have always left the tree and decorations up for the 12 Day of Christmas, putting everything away on the Feast of the Epiphany. Except for this year. We have outside lights, but no tree, no Christmas decor except for a few Christmas cards. And I've got to say I'm liking it this way. In years past Julie has sung in her choir on Christmas Eve midnight mass, Christmas Day, Jan 1, and Jan 6. Covid has shut that down, and I admit it was a relief to go to bed at a reasonable time on Christmas Eve.
ReplyDeletePresently I've a need to tell y'all that I have "Georgia on My Mind.".
I find Georgia yet another reason to celebrate today--at least in light of the morning vote count in The Washington Post.
DeleteSame here, Ann and Gigi!
DeleteTell Julie I miss my choir too. Christmas seemed empty without midnight mass
DeleteI think we have many deeply entrenched rituals and celebrations in the United States. What we don't have is a dominant monoculture. Hallie never heard of Epiphany until she got into art history because it's not part of her rich and lovely traditional culture. I never did either because, although I was raised a Christian (sort of), it was the non-fussy, low church pioneer variety, where keeping things plain and simple was valued above elaborate ritual. These days, individual church communities and ethnic enclaves may still parade with the saints, or hold midnight candle services on Christmas Eve, or host a feast for Epiphany, but the whole town doesn't turn out because the whole town doesn't follow the same faith.
ReplyDeleteWe do, however, enjoy watching, and stealing when we can. Luminaria are a big thing in cities like San Antonio and Santa Fe, where the Hispanic culture runs deep, and those of us who weren't raised in that tradition still like to travel to observe when we can. Mardi Gras is celebrated throughout Louisiana, not just in New Orleans, and remains, at heart, a family-oriented religious festival, no matter what the drunken tourists think.
And sometimes the traditions leak out into the broader communities, even though we may not fully understand them. I still haven't figured out how tamales fit into the celebration of Christmas in the Hispanic community, but I am grateful for the tamales. There's a lot to celebrate out there.
Gigi, I'm smiling as I read this. We always drive through the neighborhood to see all the lights. You know, it's a good thing to share your joyous religious traditions.
DeleteWe have a very small Latin community here in Portland, but having had fresh tamales once, I am 100% behind them becoming a regular part of Christmas!
DeleteMy Christian cousins living in New Mexico have incorporated the tamales as part of their Christmas celebration. Made for Christmas Eve dinner.
DeleteMy Christian cousins living in New Mexico have incorporated the tamales as part of their Christmas celebration. Made for Christmas Eve dinner.
DeleteI suspect the tamale tradition rose out of the fact that the whole family gathers together at Christmas (in non-plague years) and making tamales is sort of an assembly line process. So everybody gathers in the kitchen to make tamales, and then you have lots of easy, tasty snack food to feed the fam for the rest of the holiday. We should all be so fortunate to have a tradition like that!
DeleteOh, the time is going by SO quickly! Cannot believe it. I look at all the holiday cards we got, and make sure I have people's addresses for next year. It feels like a very optimistic thing to do!
ReplyDeleteWe are a very international community here. And Houstonians love to celebrate. In a normal year the local news would remind us of festivals happening. There would be interviews at local bakeries churning out king cakes for Epiphany. Bakers and customers would happily explain their customs. This year it is very low key with the elections and the surge in covid.
ReplyDeleteI love your cartoon!
ReplyDeleteMy heritage is German/French/Italian. January 6th was the day we took the decorations down. It was also the day we received our last Christmas present. We would find a fresh orange either in our shoes or in our stockings if they were still hung by the chimney with care! We called the day Little Christmas to commemorate the arrival of the wise men with their gifts.
I love that, Kait!
DeleteWhat a lovely post, Rhys. I didn't grow up celebrating Epiphany (Presbyterian, sort of. And the Presbyterians don't celebrate much...) but I love the liturgical calendar now. I always take my Christmas decorations down on New Year's Day, however. It's my personal "starting a new year" ritual.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm reading about other wonderful rituals and traditions, I'm wondering if that lack of shared celebrations in our country makes it easier for people to feel so divided.
Loved your cartoon, Rhys:-)
As it happens, I'm about to jump on my church's noon Zoom service for Epiphany. It's a lovely service, and along with lessons and carols, one of the ones I'm really missing during this pandemic year.
ReplyDeleteI was getting ready to take our Christmas decorations down today, Rhys, but after reading your account, I think I'll leave mine up until January 20th as well! We can all use some light and brightness in the winter dark.
I leave up my window candles and, this year, the new sparkly lights in the sitting room, until end of January. We absolutely need the light.
DeleteWhen I was working in a church there was a lady of Latino decent who got into a conversation with me about the three kings. Their names. Where they were from. Etc. I mentioned what a marvelous tradition that was and she got quite upset. This was not merely tradition; it was in the Bible. I did not succeed in explaining to her that it actually isn't . All that is said is "some men", no mention of number or heritage, etc.
ReplyDelete"The French word for partridge, is une perdriche. . So the song really says A partridge (une perdriche). which I suppose sounds like a pear tree??" Are you saying it was une perdriche in une perdriche tree? I'm confused.
No, I believe the song, which must have come from France, was a partridge (Une perdriche)
DeleteTry saying it with an English accent and it does sound like in a pear tree
I started responding while sitting the car, eating lunch, attempting to stay quiet for my own sanity sake. I have always left my decorations up until Epiphany. This year, being the middle of the week, it might take a bit longer to put away. These past 12 days I have been wandering the Wise Men through our Sanctuary Desert, as I am calling in it. Last night the kings arrived... today I posted the last pictures on my Facebook page and the the church's. The only way this could have happen is because we are in lockdown - out of the church. Now if only peace can reign, it would sure be nice.
ReplyDeleteLovely comments, Rhys. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy husband comes out of a Scandinavian Lutheran tradition and holy music is central. (Yes, we were once present for a recording of Christmas in Norway, Trondheim Cathedral, with the St. Olaf Choir.)