Seeker

Today the wooden figures of the magi have completed their arduous journey across our living room and reached the crib on the mantelpiece. Yes, the crib is still there. The other Christmas decorations are gone, but the 'wise men' have only just found what they seek. I think they should be allowed to remain in wonder for a while, before they return home "by a different way", don't you? Even though, some years ago our dog ate the wooden baby Jesus, so all the magi can see is a wooden cross resting on Jesus' coffin-shaped crib. Maybe there's a message there. Today the 12 days of Christmas give way to the start of Epiphany. The celebration on 6th January focuses on the strange outsiders from the east, the magi, people obsessed by study and interpretation of the movements of planets and stars. They followed the direction of a new star, expecting to find a new special king. What they found was a toddler with his parents, in an ordinary house in Bethlehem, on ...

It's the 3rd day of Christmas. (There are 12 days of Christmas ). My true love hasn't yet presented me with 'Three French Hens' today, so I'm making do with this image of a painting by Annalein Beukenkamp . My true love is at this moment offering tea and Christmas cake, so this won't be a long post. It is alleged by some that the 'three french hens' in the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' represent the virtues of faith, hope and love. Alternatively they could refer to the 3 gifts of the wise men from the East who visited the infant Jesus. On the other hand the song is probably pure nonsense and just for fun.