Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference to talk about his political future.
Trudeau — who has become deeply unpopular over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing — has kept publicly mum in recent weeks, despite intensifying pressure for him to step down after the abrupt resignation of his finance minister on Dec. 16.
This song is appropriately sung on Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. It represents the time when the Wise Men, also known as the Magi, came to visit Jesus, and is the official end of the Christmas season. Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ.
People from countries all across the world celebrate Epiphany on January 6, and while the festivities may differ by culture, they almost always include a deliciously sweet cake. In New Orleans, Louisiana, it’s customary to buy or bake a King Cake. This round cake is filled with cinnamon, topped with white glaze, and sprinkled with purple, green, and gold sugar. A figure of baby Jesus is hidden inside and whoever finds it in their slice of cake is “king” or “queen” for the day.
Epiphany, (from the Greek epiphaneia, “manifestation”), or Three Kings Day, is a Christian holiday commemorating the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ.
Adoration of the Magi, Bartolomé_Esteban_Murillo
Epiphany is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian church (the other two are Easter and Christmas). Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and other Western churches observe the feast on January 6, while some Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Epiphany on January 19, since their Christmas Eve falls on January 6.
Epiphany is celebrated with special pastries in many countries, and children often receive small gifts in their shoes in honor of the Magi’s gifts to the infant Jesus.
Matthew 2 (KJV):
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
One of my favorite towns: Telluride, Colorado. I’ve never been there in the winter! Located in the southwest part of the state, it got its name from the minerals found in the area, including silver and gold.
It is a great area for 4-wheeling, beautiful landscapes and historically significant mines and ghost towns.
I don’t know that this is seasonal, but it is certainly appropriate to praise our Lord! I have asked that this version be played at my memorial service.
Traditionally, Twelfth Night is the last of the 12 days of Christmas, January 5, and also known as the Eve of Epiphany.
According to Wikipedia:
In medieval and Tudor England, Candlemas traditionally marked the end of the Christmas season, although later, Twelfth Night came to signal the end of Christmastide, with a new but related season of Epiphanytide running until Candlemas. A popular Twelfth Night tradition was to have a bean and pea hidden inside a Twelfth-night cake; the “man who finds the bean in his slice of cake becomes King for the night while the lady who finds a pea in her slice of cake becomes Queen for the night.” Following this selection, Twelfth Night parties would continue and would include the singing of Christmas carols, as well as feasting.
Believe it or not, I learned one verse of this carol in German (the second one he sings here) when I was in about 2nd grade! The church we attended was founded in a German community, and many of the older members (and our minister) spoke German.
This version is interesting – he sings in Italian, German and Engish!
Records of using greenery to celebrate the holidays predate widespread use of the phrase “Christmas tree.” Rural English church records from the 15th and 16th centuries indicate that holly and ivy were bought in the winter — hence the British carol “The Holly and the Ivy.”
Private houses and streets were also decorated with greenery at this time, according to Judith Flanders’ Christmas: A Biography. Flanders posits that a precursor to the Christmas tree can be seen in the pole that parishes would decorate with holly and ivy, like a winter Maypole; one account describes a storm in London that knocked over a poll that’s described as “for disport of Christmas to the people.”
A lot of myths surround the origins of Christmas trees. One legend says that Martin Luther, who catalyzed the Protestant Reformation, believed that pine trees represented the goodness of God.
Another myth popular in the 15th century tells the story of St. Boniface, who in the 8th century thwarted a pagan human sacrifice under an oak tree by cutting down that tree; a fir tree grew in its place, with its branches representing Christ’s eternal truth. Some versions of this St. Boniface legend say he cut down the new fir tree and hung it upside down, which is believed to have led to the tradition of trees being hung upside down to represent the Holy Trinity — sometimes with an apple wedged at the point instead of a star. All of these stories may have helped the Christmas tradition spread.
But the real origins of Christmas trees appear to be rooted in present-day Germany during the Middle Ages.
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