Do you celebrate the Epiphany within your family

[Millie123]

I would like to start a tradition of celebrating the epiphany within my family. But, I have no idea where to start or how to incorporate the holiday within my home. We do celebrate the epiphany on the feast day within the church but do any of you have any traditions that you practice within your family home to celebrate the epiphany?

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Oh YES, we love Epiphany! It is the first sign that Christ has come for the gentiles as well as the Jews. We often have an open house type party on Epiphany with middle eastern food and plenty of dessert! I even have a set of three kings that are each about 2 feet high (including camels).

To start, you can do the Epiphany house blessing. Here’s one example.

You can also get ideas from Latin cultures that celebrate “Three Kings Day.” Often that is when children get presents instead of Christmas day. Perhaps a special meal and just one small gift. Making star crafts - particularlythe translucent one you hang in the window was also a big deal when my children where young.

 

[Millie123]

These are wonderful ideas. Thank You.

 

[EasterJoy]

We have another special meal, and it is the last day the Christmas tree and other decorations are up.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

And see, I keep mine up until the Baptism of the Lord usually. :christmastree1:

 

[Abba]

I take my Christmas tree down after Epiphany. I celebrated Epiphany with my children. We would leave dates or fruits for the camels under the tree. My children loved it!



Now that they are older, we may go to mass and share a nice dinner.

Once it happened, we were living in the Dominican Republic, and the kids got their toys from the Three Kings. It was Three Kings Day and we went to the grocery store to buy milk and stuff. The kids were really happy with their gifts and told the owner of the little neighborhood store with delight, that the Three Kings left them some present during the night. The lady store owner, caught me by surprise (ha, ha) she exclaimed: "So, that’s what was going on last night! I heard some noise in the middle of the night, it sounded like horses or something. I looked out the window, but by the time I went to see it must have been the caravan had gone by and all I got to see was the hoof of the last camel as they were headed down your road. Yeah, they would just pass by here, there no longer any children in my home. "

Fun memories.

I think it makes a great family tradition. The only minor detail is that the children get double gift but double the fun (Santa and the Three Kings). I recommend it.

 

[coopnann]

We have done a star craft before, and some kind of dessert. 2 years ago we made and decorated a tres leches cake and decorated it with candy “jewels”. The cake turned out awful! I love that cake, but I was a flop at making it myself. It was fun to do together anyway though!

But, before epiphany, we shop and buy things for mommies and babies (we have done diapers, wipes, toys, maternity clothes) (and some of the toys were things we were no longer using, and some maternity clothes bought at Kohl’s and some at Goodwill) and leave them out for the 3 kings to take to Baby Jesus to give to mommies and babies who need them. (Pregnancy Care center in town).
Previously, 3 kings have left 3 small gifts, but last year we decided too much after Christmas and we didn’t, but I don’t know what the 3 kings will do this year honestly.

One thing I would like to remember that I have read people doing is each day gradually move the kings closer to the stable in the nativity scene.

I think there were some good ideas on the catholic icing website.

 

[Catya]

There’s an Easter Rite tradition, something to do with writing numbers over the doors. Can anyone else recall what it is?

 

[EasterJoy]

And see, I keep mine up until the Baptism of the Lord usually. :christmastree1:

We actually did that last year; it was my mom’s custom to take it down on Epiphany. In retrospect, that probably had less to do with the liturgical calendar than with having a fireplace in the room with the tree, drying it out.

 

[Granum_Frumenti]

There’s an Easter Rite tradition, something to do with writing numbers over the doors. Can anyone else recall what it is?

This is a custom at house blessing (or something similar), in which a priest (or someone else) writes something like

20 + C + M + B + 14

in which the digits of the year flank the traditional initials of the Three Wise Men, often rendered in English as “Caspar,” “Melchior,” and “Balthasar.” I’ve heard of variations in the numbers of crosses and the letter of the first initial, since this name probably sees the most regional variation there (“Kaspar,” “Gaspar,” and maybe others).

A thread with more discussion:

What to do with blessed chalk on Epiphany

 

[Mrs_Sally]

We actually did that last year; it was my mom’s custom to take it down on Epiphany. In retrospect, that probably had less to do with the liturgical calendar than with having a fireplace in the room with the tree, drying it out.

I grew up mostly outside the US in countries that didn’t celebrate Christmas or didn’t celebrate with Germanic traditions like evergreen trees so we always had an artificial tree. One year, when Easter was particularly early, we had to rush to get the tree down when my mother realized that Ash Wednesday was the next week!

This year, the tree will probably coincide with my daughter’s college break - up for Gaudete Sunday and down in mid-January (need to figure out the appropriate Saint’s day. lol)

 

[maryjk]

We actually did that last year; it was my mom’s custom to take it down on Epiphany. In retrospect, that probably had less to do with the liturgical calendar than with having a fireplace in the room with the tree, drying it out.

Us too.

 

[Megan7]

This is a custom at house blessing (or something similar), in which a priest (or someone else) writes something like

20 + C + M + B + 14

in which the digits of the year flank the traditional initials of the Three Wise Men, often rendered in English as “Caspar,” “Melchior,” and “Balthasar.” I’ve heard of variations in the numbers of crosses and the letter of the first initial, since this name probably sees the most regional variation there (“Kaspar,” “Gaspar,” and maybe others).

A thread with more discussion:

What to do with blessed chalk on Epiphany