Merry Christmas to all! Well, it's still Christmasy here, even if the mall has moved on to Spring Break. Although the husband has recently informed me that there are actually only eight days of Christmas NOT twelve. I would argue that that's the kind of information a person should keep to himself and I will have twelve days, thank you very much.
At our house, the three wise men set off on Christmas. And traveling only by night and always in secret, they journey through the various rooms.
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| Here's where we found them yesterday. |
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| Did you spot them? |
Until they finally make their way to the rest of the nativity set on the mantle on January 6th.
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| I think we've got room for a couple more stockings, don't you? |
And if you look closely at that top photo again, you'll see that the outdoor wise men are also sneaking up on the outdoor Holy Family.
Thanks to our friends from Argentina (the De Tezanos Pinto family, we miss you!) we learned that on the eve of Epiphany we must leave out some snacks for the Three Kings and some water and hay (grass from the yard seems to work) for their camels. Ever since we started doing this, they have left us golden chocolate coins! Very exciting. We can tell that the camels really stopped by because they have eaten the grass out of the container and left a bunch of camel spit in there (which looks a lot like an egg white that's been whipped up a bit).
For breakfast on Epiphany, we always have a King Cake. Not the kind you get in New Orleans, I usually make Grandma Brace's Coffee Cake (yum), but the key is to put a ring in the cake before baking. The cake must be small enough that the whole thing will be eaten that morning, otherwise you run the risk that no one would get the ring! Put the cake down bottom down (or the ring will show since it sinks to the bottom) then slice the cake in equal sized slices for each member of the family. Hand them out and whoever gets the ring is the King (or Queen) of Epiphany. The King (or Queen) gets to choose what we have for meals (from what's in the house), where to sit, and what we do for fun that day. Believe me, everyone is rooting against Jack (10). He's a real tyrant.
We'll have something nice for dinner and have dessert because after all, it's a feast!
Well, that's what we're doing. How are you going to celebrate Epiphany at your house?