Today is Epiphany, an ancient celebration of the arrival of the Magi to worship the Christ-child. It comes at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which is a useful reminder that it took quite a while for them to travel to the birthplace of this new King - upwards of two years.
The gifts they brought with them speak of Christ's offices as prophet, priest and king. Gold was the usual gift for a king. Frankincense was used by the priest in temple worship. Myrrh was used in preparing a body for burial, which brings to mind the prophecies regarding the suffering of the Messiah.
Last year I purchased a small amount of frankincense and myrrh, along with gold organza bags, and shared them with my Sunday School class. Jed was excited to get his out again today and move the wise men to the Christ-child in our nativity set.
We don't have a lot of traditions in our family, but this, along with the Jesse tree we started this year, are two of the best ones we could have, I think.
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