The Feast of the Epiphany. When I was a kid, it was always January 6th. I can remember our church calendar used to include the words Little Christmas on that date.
That’s because Western Christian churches have traditionally observed it as the day the Magi, aka the Wise Men, aka the Three Kings, arrived in Bethlehem to present their gifts to the Christ Child.
Is January 6th the 12th or the 13th Day of Christmas? It’s one of those subjects that lends itself to debate. Most Christians would agree, however, that the Christmas season runs through the Epiphany.
It ain’t over till the Kings deliver the loot.
The Magi are usually pictured as having beards, right? Which reminded me of this year’s Boston Red Sox baseball team, which won the World Series. All of which conjured up the following image.
The Red Sox started sporting some serious facial hair during the 2013 season.
And the bigger their beards got, the more they won. Almost like they were channeling Samson.
Red Sox fans got into it: “Fear The Beards!!” became their rallying cry. Here’s a Boston Herald newspaper photo of some of the more impressive jaw-warmers.
It spawned a new tradition: when a Red Sox player hit a home run, his teammates charged out of the dugout to give him a congratulatory tug on his beard.
The Sox went all the way, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games (best of 7) to win the 2013 World Series.
When I tried to imagine the Three Kings as Red Sox fans, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what kind of gifts they’d bring.
Here’s a detail image:
What’s your opinion of beards– do they make a guy look manly, or just plain scruffy?
Ever seen some other craze take hold and generate a mysterious unifying power?
Has anyone ever set out their shoes at bedtime on the Epiphany, hoping the Kings
will leave them a present?
Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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