12th Night

Well we are celebrating 12th night which basically means the Wise Men have been hovering around the dining and living room for the past three weeks.  They now get to "arrive" at the stable. Each day the girls would place them closer to the Baby Jesus until tonight when they officially take their place near him. It is kinda a fun thing to do with the kids to teach them some liturgical calendar lessons.

Oh, we also let Mary and Joseph travel around the living room until Dec. 23rd then they arrive and Baby Jesus appears around Midnight on Christmas Eve.

I leave my Nativity Scene up for another few weeks until we start preparing for Lent. 

Any fun post "Christmas" traditions out there?

Nanci

YAY!  I love 12th Night!  I've been taking down all the regular decorations today - save for the Nativity.    I, like you, leave it up till Lent.  Right now I am immersed in Holy Week and Easter music - got to decide what my choir starts work on this week!

Hopefully, my church will do another Seder dinner during Lent.  Lots of fun and very meaningful.

I had to google Seder to find out what it is....this is what I found.....VERY INTERESTING!

There are a number of foods eaten during the ritual Seder family meal partaken on the first two nights of Passover. Family customs may vary the items served at the Seder, but the following food items traditionally appear on the Seder plate:

• Matzoh: Three unleavened matzohs are placed within the folds of a napkin as a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for dough to rise. Two are consumed during the service, and one (the Aftkomen), is spirited away and hidden during the ceremony to be later found as a prize.

• Maror: bitter herbs, usually horseradish or romaine lettuce, used to symbolize the bitterness of slavery.

• Charoses: a mixture of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon, as a reminder of the mortar used by the Jews in the construction of buildings as slaves

• Beitzah: a roasted egg, as a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence.

• Karpas: a vegetable, preferably parsley or celery, representing hope and redemption; served with a bowl of salted water to represent the tears shed.

• Zeroah: traditionally a piece of roasted lamb shankbone, symbolizing the paschal sacrificial offering

• Wine: four glasses of wine are consumed during the service to represent the four-fold promise of redemption, with a special glass left for Elijah the prophet. Further Passover References:

Lots of children in Mexico do not get their presents until tonight when the Wise Men bring them.  And a lot of Mexican American kids get a second round of small gifts tonight to celebrate what the Wise Men brought.  Perfume,,cologne, and money  are popular gifts for tonight....because of what the Wise Men brought.

Karla- You are so right.  I teach 6th grade CCD to many hispanic children and they were excited about celebrating it. Oh, and of course, Dora the Explorer is having a Kings Night special on tomorrow.

John-My 6th grade CCD concentrates on the Old Testament and Jewish tradition so we celebrate the Seder meal and explain the different aspects to the students.  So few do people realize the significance of the Passover and the blood of the lamb compared to the day of Christ being crucified.

I sang for over 10 years at Temple Emmanu-El in Birmingham.  I've done many a Seder and sung many a Sh'ma Yisrael!

((Nanci))
We went to a Twelfth night party last night at one of our pastor's homes. It was GREAT!
The children spelled out Epiphany ("Three Kings").
All the children present from babies to "preteen" as my Jacob likes to be called were involved.
We had dinner, and dessert and a great time ending the Christmas Season.
I will defiantley be doing this again next year.. whether it be with my church or hosting my own party!
It's just great for all of us to learn and bring them closer to JESUS!