Epiphany & A Farewell to Noel

Twelfth Night Dinner Welcomes the Three Kings & Says Farewell to Christmastide

In my home growing up, Epiphany (January 6) signaled the end of the Christmas season.  Because I went to Catholic school, there was probably mass attendance, although I have no strong memories of that.  What I do remember is the emptiness & ordinariness of the house once the decorations were down, the lack of pine smell in the air, and the decided return to "normal" time.  Of course, we were headed back to school & jumping into all the things that January and February had on their calendars so I forged ahead, never looking back.

As an adult, I've been more melancholy about the end of the winter holiday season.  I love the glistening, glittering, rich sights, sounds, and smells of all that the month of December brings us & I've sought to extend it.  I began adhering to a Twelve Days of Christmas schedule several years ago; I use the time between Christmas & Epiphany to reflect on the year past & dream about the year to come.  I'm slow to put away the decorations, ferreting them into boxes only a bit at a time over the twelve days.

I am blessed to have an amazing group of friends who support my love for tradition & ritual who joyfully join me in celebrating Epiphany each year; we chalk the front door to welcome the three kings and provide luck for all who will enter during the year, wassail the apple tree in the backyard in hopes of a fruitful harvest, sing madrigals & take the ornaments from the tree.  Visiting family members and new friends have joined in through the years, all reveling in the conclusion of Christmastide.  When the night concludes, we are truly & honestly ready to reenter "real" time.

Tomorrow we will do so again & invite you to do so as well.  If you have already taken Christmas down, celebrate with a candle & a carol--Here We Come A-Wassailing is very appropriate!