Epiphany

Epiphany is the day Christ is revealed to the world. The Magi arrive with gifts for the newborn King. This is when the star of Bethlehem drives away the darkness of the night to welcome the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.

Epiphany is considered to be the merriest day of Christmastime. It is a time to make our homes glitter with gold and the burning frankincense and myrrh helps our prayers rise to God as the incense rises. One big part of the Epiphany celebration is the blessing of the home in the new year.

On the eve on Epiphany or on the exact day when family members sit down to eat together have a special cake to serve as dessert. Before the meal cut the cake so each person will have a piece and then hide a dried bean or a coin in one of them. Then when you pass the cake out after the meal is finished the person whose pieces has the dried bean or coin in it will be the queen or king for the night. They will get to lead the blessing of the house. Have a crown for the royal person to wear, a piece of chalk, and evergreen branch with a bowl of water.

Gather at the front door of you home and the royal person will lead your family in saying the Our Father. Then the crowned person will write in chalk over the door (or on a sheet of paper that you can hang over your door): 20 + C + M + B + 15.
The numbers represent the year, the crosses stand for the four seasons and the letters stand for the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

Then the queen or king will bless the house beginning with the front door and moving through each room of the house, sprinkling each room with water. As you walk through your home you could sing “We Three Kings” or “Joy to the World.” This ritual will help you see how Christ’s blessings will be with you throughout the new year.
(from Take Me Home: ©LTP 1991)