Epiphany

Happy Epiphany!

The Feast of Epiphany commemorates the visitation of the 3 magi to the infant Jesus; it is the last official day of Christmas (the Christmas Season as a whole goes until Candlemas on February 1st.)

Traditional Observations

There are many old traditions and customs associated with Epiphany, as there have been with the rest of our Feast Days. Many of these have very similar themes; one regularly sees house blessings, various forms of "trick-or-treating," divinations, and the crowning of child-kings and boy-bishops.

Epiphany in particular is associated with cakes in which a small bean or coin is placed; whoever discovers the bean becomes the king of the Epiphany.

Epiphany is also a day for giving gifts. Sometimes the gifts are said to come from the magi; other times a Santa Claus-type of figure provides them. In Italy and in the Italian diaspora, gifts are distributed by a witch called La Befana; in some households, it's the role of the youngest daughter to put on a witch's hat and pass out presents.

Epiphany is also associated with the blessing of waters. It is still the custom among the Orthodox to bless the waters during Epiphany; whether those waters were lakes, rivers, or the ocean. This includes tossing a cross into the water, which the gathered parishioners then compete to find. When I lived in Santa Barbara, there was a large Greek Orthodox Church and, nearby, an Antiochian Orthodox Church-- the "Antiochian Orthodox Church" is the American Orthodox Church for all intents and purposes, and its members tend to be converted American Protestants. Members of both churches would gather at Leadbetter Beach at Epiphany, bless the ocean and dive for the cross.

It's worth noting that cold water has strong powers of magical purification which are used in many traditions. You'll find the Greeks at the beginning of the Iliad purifying themselves after offending Apollo by casting themselves into the sea; you'll find modern Japanese Shintoists doing the same sort of thing with waterfalls. Give it a try yourself sometime, if you have a body of water available, and you'll find the effects immediate and remarkable (and all the more so if you preface your swim with a suitable prayer).

In Greece it was also the custom to take ashes from a hearth in which cedarwood has been burning since Christmas to a blessed river, "baptize" the ashes," and then scatter the ashes at the four corners of vineyars and at the foot of apple and fig trees. Similar customs prevailed as far away as England, where men would drink a toast of cider before the largest apple tree, and sing the following find old song:
 
 
Here's to thee, old apple-tree,
Whence thou may'st bud, and whence thou may'st blow!
And whence thou may'st bear apples enow!
Hats full! caps full!
Bushel!—bushel—sacks full,
And my pockets full too! Huzza!

Today, the best known Epiphany devotion is the blessing of the home with water and consecrated chalk. As we discussed yesterday, that's what we're going to do today. If you have blessed chalk already, that's what you'll need; if not, you can refer back to the ritual I posted yesterday.

The Blessing of the Home

1. Begin in the usual way, with the following twist-- if you can, you should set up your prayer space either in the kitchen or in some place representing the center of the home to you.

2. Recite the following:

A. The Prologue to Saint John's Gospel
B. The Our Father
C. The Collect:
 
O God, who by the star this day revealed Your only-begotten Son to all nations, grant that we, who know You now by faith, may be brought one day before the vision of Your majesty. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

3. Now, take your chalk, and go outside, to the door of your house. At the top part of the door (the lintel), you are going to write the following:

20 + C + M + B + 22
This stands for Caspar Melchior Balthazar, the names of the 3 magi. And it also stands for Christus mansionem benedicat-- or Christ bless this house.

Write the formula while reciting the following words:
 
The Three Wise Men, Caspar C (write the letter), Melchior M and Balthazar B followed the star of God’s Son Who became man, Two Thousand 20 and Twenty One years ago 21. May Christ bless our home ++ (inscribe the first two crosses), and remain with us through the new year ++ (then the last two crosses).
 
 
You can then bless the home with holy water; the water will have an added effect if it is blessed today (or yesterday).

A blessed Eiphany to one and all!

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The Eve of Epiphany 

Tomorrow is Epiphany, which means the Twelve Days of Christmas have come to their end! 

Tomorrow is the traditional day to bless the home. To do this, in addition to our usual tools, we will use consecrated chalk. Now, if you like, you can bless your chalk tomorrow before you use it, but as it is traditional to bless the chalk on the Eve of the Epiphany, I wanted to provide the blessing ritual today. 

The Blessing of Chalk

If you've been following along up to this point, you already know what you need to do. A simple, but complete, system for blessing sacred objects has been provided in these posts, starting from the beginning of Advent. To bless Epiphany Chalk, you'll need your usual implements-- at minimum, a quiet place and a table or ledge on which you can place a crucifix, a candle, whatever holy images you find suitable, as well as holy water and incense. And, of course, chalk! 

Follow the same procedure given previously to bless incense and wine, but when it comes time to bless the chalk itself, use the following formula. Remember that the "V" and "R" are applicable if you have an assistant; if not, read everything yourself. When you encounter a +, make the sign of the cross over the chalk, which you should visualize in the form of white fire. 

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord. R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.

Bless, + O Lord God, this creature chalk, to render it helpful to men. Grant that they who use it with faith in Thy most holy Name, and with it inscribe upon the entrance of their homes the names of Thy Saints, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, may through their merits and intercession enjoy health of body and protection of soul. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

Sprinkle the chalk three times with holy water and cense it three times with incense.
 
Tomorrow we'll discuss the feast of Epiphany, and the visitation of the Three Magi. See you then!

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