And it turns out, actually, that even the date for Epiphany itself is negotiable. Most traditions seem to place it always on January 6, but others insist that it should be on a Sunday and therefore commemorate Epiphany on whatever Sunday falls between December 2 and December 8. Unless they feel like doing it the Sunday before--apparently, that's okay, too.
This reminds me a little of Easter; I can never keep track of what the "rule" is for determining which Sunday it will be in any given year!
It also reminds me of our dear friends from Germany, the Erharts, who lived here in the States as our neighbors several years ago. They enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving meal with our family on Thanksgiving Day the last year they were here. We also celebrated a "Summertime Thanksgiving of sorts" during their last month here, in which we cooked and ate the whole blessed feast again when it was 95 degrees outside! It wasn't until the following year--when they were back in Germany and we were here eating the American feast again--that we realized the confusion over dates. They sent a lovely email on Friday--the day after Thanksgiving--telling us they were thinking of us as we celebrated. It didn't take us long to figure out that they thought the holiday fell on the particular date and not a particular day. (Again, what's the rule for knowing which Thursday it will be? Is it the last one in November? The fourth one? Is the fourth Thursday always the last Thursday?) But I digress...
Back to the point. (Is there a point?!) In my book, today, January 6, is the 13th Day of Christmas and the day to celebrate Epiphany, if you do that sort of thing. However, it is kind of hard to make much of Epiphany when the people out there who sometimes force your hand with regard to your schedule (think school and work here!) have sent you back to your duties.
We always leave our Christmas decorations up through Epiphany, though we stop burning the outside lights afterwards if it falls early in the week, to wait for a convenient weekend time to take them down without becoming "those neighbors"!
In the absence of any great ideas that have worked their way into our holiday traditions at Epiphany--feel free to share if you have any meaningful practices up your sleeve!--I always use this opportunity to teach my Creative Writing students [and to remind my own children, as we are homeschoolers, after all!] about the differences in the various meanings of the word "epiphany." So, first things first:
* Epiphany (with a capital E) refers to the holiday, which is defined for us by About.com's Guide to Christianity Mary Fairchild as follows:
Epiphany, also known as "Three Kings Day" and "Twelfth Day," is a Christian holiday commemorated on January 6. It falls on the twelfth day after Christmas, and for some denominations signals the conclusion of the twelve days of the Christmas season. Though many different cultural and denominational customs are practiced, in general, the feast celebrates the manifestation of God in the form of human flesh through Jesus Christ, his Son.
The word epiphany means “manifestation” or “revelation" and is commonly linked in Western Christianity with the visit of the wise men (Magi) to the Christ child. Through the Magi, Christ revealed himself to the gentiles. In Eastern Christianity, Epiphany puts emphasis on the baptism of Jesus by John, with Christ revealing himself to the world as God's own Son. Likewise, on Epiphany some denominations commemorate Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine, signifying the manifestation of Christ's divinity as well.
(Notice that even she acknowledges the squirrelly nature of trying to pin down a date for the thing!)
* Colloquially, the word *epiphany*refers to "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience." (This definition is provided to us by Dictionary.com.)
"In other words," my students always tell me, "an epiphany is an *aha moment*!" Well, yeah, pretty much.
* Literarily, the word *epiphany* is "a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight."
I love teaching about epiphany. I love those little commonplace moments--whether in literature or in life--that change us. That make us realize something extraordinary in the midst of the oh-so-ordinary. That, in some ways, define us.
And so I will end with an epiphany-of-sorts that I am in the middle of... that I'm just now starting to realize, as I see the profound truth that I am so prone to miss...
This particular musing has been brought on by Theodore Roosevelt, through the following quotation from his book, An Autobiography, published in 1913.
"For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison."
May I ever remember it...and seek to love and enjoy and not miss these wonderful ones living with us for just so-very-few-more years more! All other forms of success and achievement do lose their importance by comparison!
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