Mariah DeLaÓ

Happy Epiphany! The Christian holiday of Epiphany (a.k.a. Three Kings’ Day, January 6th) commemorates the day the three kings finally arrived to give their gifts to the Christ child. It’s one of the big four in the Christian calendar — along with Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost — that celebrates the first “manifestation of Jesus” to the Gentiles (represented by the three kings). So what’s the “epiphany”? That Jesus was more than a human baby — he was also divine, and he came not just for the Jews, but for everyone’s salvation. The night before Epiphany, which marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, is celebrated in many cultures with gifts and blessings. The French celebrate with a “galette des rois” — the “Cake of Kings.” Inside each galette hides a tiny trinket or prize. Traditionally, the cake is cut into pieces, and the youngest child at the table decides who will get each piece (so there’s no cheating). Everyone then takes careful bites of the pastry until someone finds the prize, which the excited winner gets to keep — along with a golden crown that tops the cake — and becomes king or queen for the day. Travelers to Italy notice how the Christmas season is celebrated until January 6th. Italy’s Epiphany is the time of “La Befana,” the legendary Good Witch of Christmas, who gives gifts to children. My Roman friend Francesca explains it like this: “On the night before January 6th, the Befana flies over the rooftops of Rome on her broom and brings gifts to the good children or coal for the bad ones. Well, these days, the ‘coal’ is a crunchy black candy you buy from street-corner carts. In return, Roman children leave her a gift of soft ricotta cheese, since she has hardly any teeth!” One great thing about travel is you often learn more dimensions of holidays you may have celebrated all your life…or perhaps holidays you never knew existed. Happy Epiphany!