epiphany brings

epiphany brings

a divine manifestation

of fire and light

Epiphany, the day the Magi found the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. We don't really know who they were, where they came from, how many of them there were, or when they actually arrived. They may have been astrologers from somewhere to the east who traveled by camel, following the omen of a bright celestial object, possibly a comet, and visited Jesus with his mother Mary, perhaps as long as two years after his birth. In any case, they expected to find a divine manifestation of fire and light, and brought gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold.
          I got the idea for our creche from The Christmas Cat by Tasha Tudor. In this sweet children's story, on Christmas Eve a farm family gathers around their creche, where the boys' old plush donkey and little toy goat stand in the hay next to Mary and the baby. When my sons were young, I started putting together a nativity tableau with their little stuffed animals and some of my small dolls, set up on an antique walnut hutch. Over the years the menagerie keeps growing, as I continue to collect animals and dolls from all over the world. In addition to Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds, angels, Magi, and the traditional donkey, cow, sheep and camels, there are chickens, ducks, rabbits, mice, a cat, a donkey, a horse, deer, a zebra, an elephant, yaks, llamas, alpaca, antelope, giraffes, owls, songbirds, hummingbird, a hedgehog, squirrel, raccoon, fox, bears, a wolf, a coyote, yaks, antelope, giraffes, seals, a penguin, a kiwi, an ostrich, and a stork. Alas, no dog yet!
          Every Christmas I have continued a family tradition of giving each son a new ornament for the Christmas tree. Once they were grown, I gave each of them their ornament collection for their own trees, but I still have mine from when I was a child and the ones Santa continues to give me. Lately, I've stopped using a "live," that is, cut tree, feeling it is just too wasteful, and I don't really like the fake plastic trees either, for the same reason. So I've acquired a wrought iron "tree," with five tiers for hanging ornaments and candle holders, for real beeswax candles which I light only on Christmas Eve.
          Tonight, since the Magi have come and gone in this bitterly cold weather, I will take down the tree and the creche and pack them carefully away until next year. I wish I could ask them what message they received from Comet ISON.