Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.”
The famous Christmas song, written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857 is actually the first widely popular Christmas Carol in the USA.
However, as a child I had actually never heard of anyone celebrating Three Kinds Day and it wasn’t until I first came to Europe that I discovered this tradition. It takes place on January 6, twelve days after the birth of baby Jesus and supposedly his baptismal day. Various scholars have now been able to access old documents other than the Bible where there is actually little mention of this event, and presume that they may have been 12, like the 12 apostles.
In any case various countries celebrate, usually with a type of pastry: in the case of Europe most often a round, wafer-type pastry filled with almond paste and in which a “king” and a “queen” are placed so that the person getting them in their portion becomes king or queen for the evening. In some countries (Portugal, Spain) ceramic figurines have turned into collector’s items.
So enjoy the end of the Christmas festivities and may you all be king or queen of your dominion.
No comments:
Post a Comment