Celebrating Epiphany can be the start of a new tradition for your home. Beginning Christmas Day (or before), you can move the Magi (wise men) to a new room or area of your home each day (until they find baby Jesus January 6). Let your children search for them each morning. Then discuss how you might show the Magi that Jesus is in your home that day.
Epiphany can be a time to introduce celebrations from other countries. Your Epiphany celebration can begin the day before on January 5 as it does In Puerto Rico. Churches or families can go caroling, or sing songs and read scriptures before a table with a Nativity set and/or figures of the Wise Men. Then have a meal of chicken soup and snacks.
Many South American and European countries celebrate Three Kings Day with children leaving shoes by the door along with grass and water for the kings’ camels the evening of January 5. In the morning, the children find gifts left by the Magi.
You might decide to save some of the children’s Christmas gifts (or purchase some at those after-Christmas sales) to present three gifts to each child on Epiphany, representing the gifts the Magi brought the Christ child.
On January 6, Epiphany, read the story of the Magi from Matthew 2:1-12. Then have the children march through the house holding the figures of the Magi and singing “We Three Kings.”
Another activity is to make a king’s cake. In Louisiana, this cake is round, filled with cinnamon, glazed white, and coated in colorful sanding sugar. In France, a cake called galette des Rois, made of puff pastry and filled with almond cream, is used. (directions for making a galette at https://www.carolinescooking.com/galette-des-rois-french-king-cake/ ). Whatever kind of cake is made, a plastic doll representing baby Jesus (or a bean –Feve, in French) is inserted in the cake batter prior to baking.
When ready to eat the cake, the youngest (“most innocent”) person cuts the cake to assure that the recipient of the doll/bean is random. (Just make sure each person is looking for the doll/bean so it doesn’t get eaten!) The person who gets the piece with the doll/bean is king/queen and wears a crown (can be made of paper or plastic). That person can serve beverages for the meal, or if older, can host the next king cake celebration at their home.
You can conclude the day with a candlelight service that includes reading the story of the Wise Men (Magi) from Matthew 2:1-12, prayers of thanks to God for the gift of Jesus, and a blessing for your home and those within.
As the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:13, “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable [indescribable] gift!”
Sources: https://www.teachingcatholickids.com/family-traditions-for-epiphany/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday)#National_and_local_customs
Image of galette from Pixabay