Feast of the Epiphany

According to a Facebook-addicted friend of mine, there is an event coming up on the Feast of the Epiphany (6 Jan) called Be A Monarch Day, where everyone wears a crown or tiara around all day. She informed me she is attending. I believe I shall participate as well. I find it appropriate that the tiara day is also on the day called the Feast of the Three Kings.

Epiphany is a pretty interesting day, if you think about it. The kings found Mary and Joseph's house and paid homage to a toddler. Last time I checked, toddlers weren't so big on the "sit still, be patient, talk to the people" ordeal which accompanies the approach of royalty (or sometimes, extended family). Can you imagine how Mary felt? An unidentified number (three is simply traditional) of kings troop into your house and bow to your two- or three-year-old, who is probably giggling like mad and innocently getting himself into something he isn't supposed to (like the linen closet, which was all neat and tidy until he figured out how to open the door). These kings also give him expensive gifts, unrelated though they may seem. Gold is for a king... frankincense is used in worship. Myrrh is for embalming... when someone or something is dead. And they are giving these wonderful and somewhat morbid gifts to a little boy who may or may not understand what they mean. I'm sure Mary and Joseph were caught more than a little off-guard.