Happy Epiphany!

The Twelve Days of Christmas are over! Today is the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes called Three Kings' Day to commemorate the visit to Christ by the Magi, St Melchior, St Caspar, and St Balthasar. It commemorates Our Lord revealing Himself in three ways,

• to the Magi who, guided by the great and mysterious Star of Bethlehem, came to visit Him when He was a Baby (Matthew 2:1-19)
   
• through His Baptism by St. John, when "the Spirit of God descending as a dove" came upon Him and there was heard a voice from Heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1), and all Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity were manifest (Note: the Baptism of Our Lord is also commemorated on the 13th of January)
   
• through His first public miracle -- that of the wedding at Cana when Our Lord turned water into wine at the request of His Mother (John 2). Just as God's first miracle before the Egyptian pharaoh, through Moses, was turning the waters of the Nile into blood, Our Lord's first miracle was turning water into wine.

In times past, in honour of their bringing the Christ Child gifts, gifts were given on 'Three Kings' Day'. When my children were young, they always got a small gift today, and the Christmas tree and decorations came down. We were the weirdos in the neighbourhood, since everyone else took theirs down on St Stephen's Day, or at the very latest, on the Feast of the Circumcision! 

The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth readings from Matins for today.

From the Sermons of Pope St. Leo (the Great)
2nd for Twelfth-Day.
Dearly beloved brethren, rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice. But a few days are past since the solemnity of Christ's Birth, and now the glorious light of His Manifestation is breaking upon us. On that day the Virgin brought Him forth, and on this the world knew Him. The Word made Flesh was pleased to reveal Himself by degrees to those for whom He had come. When Jesus was born He was manifested indeed to the believing, but hidden from His enemies. Already indeed the heavens declared the glory of God, and their sound went out into all lands, when the Herald Angels appeared to tell to the shepherds the glad tidings of a Saviour's Birth; and now the guiding star leadeth the wise men to worship Him, that from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, the Birth of the true King may be known abroad; that through those wise men the kingdoms of the east might learn the great truth, and the Roman empire remain no more in darkness.

The very cruelty of Herod, when he strove to crush at His birth this King Whom he alone feared, was made a blind means to carry out this dispensation of mercy. While the tyrant with horrid guilt sought to slay the little Child he did not know, amid an indiscriminate slaughter of innocents, his infamous act served to spread wider abroad the heaven-told news of the Birth of the Lord. Thus were these glad tidings loudly proclaimed, both by the novelty of their story, and the iniquity of their enemies. Then was the Saviour borne into Egypt, that nation, of a long time hardened in idolatry, might by the mysterious virtue which went out of Him, even when His presence was unknown, be prepared for the saving light so soon to dawn on them, and might receive the Truth as a wanderer even before they had banished falsehood.

Dearly beloved brethren, we recognize in the wise men who came to worship Christ, the first-fruits of that dispensation to the Gentiles wherein we also are called and enlightened. Let us then keep this Feast with grateful hearts, in thanksgiving for our blessed hope, whereof it doth commemorate the dawn. From that worship paid to the new-born Christ is to be dated the entry of us Gentiles upon our heirship of God and co-heirship with Christ. Since that joyful day the Scriptures which testify of Christ have lain open for us as well as for the Jews. Yea, their blindness rejected that Truth, Which, since that day, hath shed Its bright beams upon all nations. Let all observance, then, be paid to this most sacred day, whereon the Author of our salvation was made manifest, and as the wise men fell down and worshipped Him in the manger, so let us fall down and worship Him enthroned Almighty in heaven. As they also opened their treasures and presented unto Him mystic and symbolic gifts, so let us strive to open our hearts to Him, and offer Him from thence some worthy offering.

And Here is the famous Carol for the Three Kings.

Here is a recipe for a traditional 'Three Kings Cake'.

Three Kings Cake

Cake:

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 (1/4 oz.) envelopes active dry yeast

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

2 eggs

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing:

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

3 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Trinket, almond, other nut

Colored sugars, if desired

Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool mixture to 100 degrees to 110 degrees.

Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

Punch dough down; divide in half. Turn 1 portion out onto a lightly floured surface; roll to a 28- x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half each of cinnamon mixture and softened butter on dough. Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long side. Place dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough, cinnamon mixture, and butter.

Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.

To finish: Make a tiny cut into the cake and hide a plastic or china trinket (shaped like Baby Jesus, if possible) inside (may substitute an almond or other nut). Mix the icing ingredients and do one of the following: 1) simply spread on cake (may dot with candied cherries), 2) spread on cake and then top with a colored sugar 3) spread on cake and sprinkle with alternating bands of colored sugar (in New Orleans, the traditional colors are green, gold, and purple).

And here is an absolutely great video by Professor Bob Brier. He's an Egyptologist in real life, but in this video he looks at the 'legend' of the Three Kings. Whilst he takes a scientist's strict view that we can't be sure that the bones preserved in the Cathedral of Cologne are those of the Magi, his honest, scientific conclusion is that they may very well be. My only quibble is when he he refers to them as 'the holiest relics in Christendom'. I think the Holy Cross, the Holy Shroud, and the Crown of Thorns, just to name three, are considerably more 'holy'.