Today is Epiphany, the twelfth (and final) day of Christmas. I only know this because I married an Episcopalian. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church which celebrated, if I am remembering correctly, Good Friday, Easter, a little bit of Advent, and Christmas Day. That’s it. No Lent. No Annunciation. No Pentecost. No Epiphany. It had a huge picnic on the fourth of July though. Hmm...
In any case, through Matt, our church in DC, and my experience at Catholic University, I have since been exposed to more of the breadth and depth of Christian tradition. Epiphany commemorates, among other things, the visit of the Magi to young Jesus Christ. Matt’s church in Idaho has an annual pageant and meal called The Feast of Lights on or around Epiphany telling the story of how the light of Christ travelled from the nativity through church history and all the way to Boise. The Magi, and their theme song “We Three Kings,” are involved. Matt apparently got to play the king who sings the myrrh verse two or three times because no one else wanted that one. (There’s a reason why the myrrh verse isn’t common while carol singing or on recordings; it’s really depressing.) I got to see The Feast of Lights in 2003, but I confess that Epiphany didn’t really stick in my mind until this year. This year, perhaps my favorite Christmas memory is one of three very special kings.
In October, at the preschool book fair, I got a book called “1001 things to make and do at Christmas.” It had many homemade decorating ideas, and Lily chose to make paper angels, which we hung in the window above the kids’ play nook. This gave me a new idea, and I asked her to make the whole nativity scene. She had the choice to cut figures out of paper or draw them, and she chose to draw, deciding entirely on her own who to depict and in what order. She made two angels, Mary (holding Jesus), the manger, Joseph, a shepherd with several sheep, and, finally, the three kings.
Mary, with huge and mildly crazy eyes, was a pretty accurate portrayal of a woman soon after delivery. The angels had carefully matching outfits because, as Lily explained, they were twins. But the kings... the kings were the best. Not only did they have outfits worthy of Las Vegas, their gifts, instead of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were a trophy, a big umbrella, and a taco.
I have absolutely no idea why she chose a trophy, a big umbrella, and a taco. They are not favorites or frequently mentioned things of hers. They are not from a book or a movie that I can think of. They do not have deep sentiment or spiritual significance behind them. This is not a case of “What can I give Him? Give Him my heart.” When I asked her about it, she basically said that the trophy was pretty, the umbrella was useful, and the taco was tasty. Nevertheless, I love it. I love the randomness. I love the whimsy. I love that Jesus is so approachable in her mind that she imagines him with a trophy, an umbrella, and a taco.
When I was a girl, we had a set of ceramic kings from my great grandmother that always sat on the mantle. I think that she got them in Florida some time in the 60s or 70s. They had nearly neon robes of green, pink, and blue with rhinestones in their turbans. By my late childhood, they also had hot glue in various places. Those guys were pretty memorable, but Lily’s kings are right up there now. In honor of them- and Matt’s performances in the Feast of Lights- here are the “We Three Kings” verses as Lily’s kings might sing them:
King the first:
Born a king in Bethlehem town,
A trophy I bring to show His renown.
King forever, losing never-
Let every knee bow down.
King the second:
Umbrella to offer have I.
It will keep the deity dry.
No complaining when it’s raining-
He’s prepared, God most high.
King the third:
A taco is mine, its savory scent
Makes you hungry, as it’s meant.
Tasting, munching, smiling, crunching-
This is a gift well spent.
Happy Epiphany, Everyone.
In any case, through Matt, our church in DC, and my experience at Catholic University, I have since been exposed to more of the breadth and depth of Christian tradition. Epiphany commemorates, among other things, the visit of the Magi to young Jesus Christ. Matt’s church in Idaho has an annual pageant and meal called The Feast of Lights on or around Epiphany telling the story of how the light of Christ travelled from the nativity through church history and all the way to Boise. The Magi, and their theme song “We Three Kings,” are involved. Matt apparently got to play the king who sings the myrrh verse two or three times because no one else wanted that one. (There’s a reason why the myrrh verse isn’t common while carol singing or on recordings; it’s really depressing.) I got to see The Feast of Lights in 2003, but I confess that Epiphany didn’t really stick in my mind until this year. This year, perhaps my favorite Christmas memory is one of three very special kings.
In October, at the preschool book fair, I got a book called “1001 things to make and do at Christmas.” It had many homemade decorating ideas, and Lily chose to make paper angels, which we hung in the window above the kids’ play nook. This gave me a new idea, and I asked her to make the whole nativity scene. She had the choice to cut figures out of paper or draw them, and she chose to draw, deciding entirely on her own who to depict and in what order. She made two angels, Mary (holding Jesus), the manger, Joseph, a shepherd with several sheep, and, finally, the three kings.
I have absolutely no idea why she chose a trophy, a big umbrella, and a taco. They are not favorites or frequently mentioned things of hers. They are not from a book or a movie that I can think of. They do not have deep sentiment or spiritual significance behind them. This is not a case of “What can I give Him? Give Him my heart.” When I asked her about it, she basically said that the trophy was pretty, the umbrella was useful, and the taco was tasty. Nevertheless, I love it. I love the randomness. I love the whimsy. I love that Jesus is so approachable in her mind that she imagines him with a trophy, an umbrella, and a taco.
When I was a girl, we had a set of ceramic kings from my great grandmother that always sat on the mantle. I think that she got them in Florida some time in the 60s or 70s. They had nearly neon robes of green, pink, and blue with rhinestones in their turbans. By my late childhood, they also had hot glue in various places. Those guys were pretty memorable, but Lily’s kings are right up there now. In honor of them- and Matt’s performances in the Feast of Lights- here are the “We Three Kings” verses as Lily’s kings might sing them:
King the first:
Born a king in Bethlehem town,
A trophy I bring to show His renown.
King forever, losing never-
Let every knee bow down.
King the second:
Umbrella to offer have I.
It will keep the deity dry.
No complaining when it’s raining-
He’s prepared, God most high.
King the third:
A taco is mine, its savory scent
Makes you hungry, as it’s meant.
Tasting, munching, smiling, crunching-
This is a gift well spent.
Happy Epiphany, Everyone.
Reading this a little bit late, I cracked up at the rewritten carol. It was authentic-sounding enough that I read the first verse (with accompanying sung version in my head) and thought, 'huh, that's not how our hymnal always had it - guess it's one of those denominational differences' :-P
ReplyDeleteWe Three Kings always makes me think of the Christmas at 3CC where we played How Many Kings, You are the Light, and something else, and Addie and maybe Ben came up the aisle and sang into the mic as a solo - it's been sad since you left that there's been basically no children's anything play-performance-friendlybeasts-thing for Advent or general Christmastime. Maybe I need to insist next year and organize it myself :-)