ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES for Epiphany

CHALKING THE DOOR - is an Epiphany ritual that can be done at church or at home. It is basically a house blessing. Using chalk, family members on the upper door frame the year’s date and the letters C, B, and M (the initials of the three wise men). The date is interrupted by the letters: 20+C+M+B+20 for this Epiphany. C, M, B also stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, Latin for “May Christ Bless this House.” When you are finished, offer a prayer asking that the door welcome many visitors during the coming year and that all who come through the doorway be blessed. Suggested prayer: God of doors and homes, bless this home this year and every year. Bless all who come and go through this door, both those who live here and those who visit. May all who enter through this door come in peace and bring joy. May all who come to this door find welcome and love. May the love and joy in this home overflow and spread into the community and the world. Amen

READING

The Legend of Old Befana, by Tomie dePaola. In this well-loved European folk tale, an Italian grandmother meets the kings, then spends the rest of her life leaving cakes and cookies for children during the night on January 6 (the official date of Epiphany). Consider: Read the first 13 pages ending with Befana telling the 3 kings that she has seen the star which kept her awake at night and that she had work to do. (approximately four minutes to read aloud) Stop there to ponder the possibility of missing out on something wonderful because you were stuck in a grumpy rut. Note that the new year has many possibilities. Encourage children to stay open enough to give them a chance.

Or, instead of stopping read one more page. Then, stop. Ask the children what Befana might have done next. Read or tell what happened in the next 13 pages (approximately three minutes to read the rest of the book). Compare Befana’s (grumpy) face in the pictures of her sweeping with her (happy) face on the last page. Ask what made the difference.

Baboushka, retold by Arthur Scholey, is a Russian folktale about another busy grandmother who meets the three kings and is invited to join them. At first, she declines with lots of busy excuses, then decides to follow, but never catches up. An angel points out that the shepherds left immediately after the angels sang to them. The kings followed the star as soon as it appeared. She is simply too late. She keeps searching, carrying with her toys that she leaves with sleeping children in case they are the Christ child. (About ten minutes to read aloud) DISCUSSION – What did the wisemen bring to Jesus in our Bible Verse today? The wisemen brought gifts to Jesus. If you were there at Jesus’ birth, what would you bring him? Did you choose to give Jesus your best things? We aren’t able to really give Jesus a gift like we do each other on Christmas, but we can give a meaningful gift from your heart. Not anything that you can buy them, but something that you can give of yourself.

WRITE A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Using the Scripture for the day, write a newspaper article telling your community of these events, but put them in a modern setting in your town.

HYMN STUDY of “We three Kings of Orient, Are.” Use the printed words below To walk through the verses explaining the significance of the three gifts. Then sing the carol together. Interesting sidebar for children: the carol is generally known as “We 3 Kings of Orient Are.” Most children assume that Orient Are is the place the kings come from. The truer to the meaning grammar for this verse would be: We three kings of (the) Orient are bearing gifts. We traverse afar, (over) field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

We three kings of Orient are Myrrh is mine, it's bitter perfume Bearing gifts we traverse afar Breaths a life of gathering gloom Field and fountain, moor and mountain Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding dying Following yonder star Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

Born a king on Bethlehem's plain Oh, star of wonder, star of night Gold I bring to crown Him again Star with royal beauty bright King forever, ceasing never Westward leading, still proceeding Over us all to reign Guide us to thy perfect light

Oh, star of wonder, star of night Source: LyricFind Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy perfect light