Magi Of The East

The biblical Three Wise Kings are celebrated on the 6th January. The Gospel of Mathew tells us that they found the baby Jesus by following a star. Along the way they came across King Herod, who tried to trick them into telling him where this new king was.

They came bearing gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. Warned in a dream about Herod's intentions, they left following a different route. Herod followed this up with the massacre of young children of Bethlehem.

Not much more is known about them, though popular myth gives them the names of Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar.

So on Tuesday we decided to begin our own family tradition (based lightly on the Mexican one) of celebrating the Magi from the East.

We prepared a cheese fondue, and my wife made a ring shaped loaf which after slicing became an excellent piece for scooping up the cheese.

Before eating we shared a brief prayer and talked about the Magi, not only about the biblical reference, but also about their possible journey.

We all decided this would become a yearly tradition as we had great fun (after the religious side of things it became a moment of sharing, joking, laughing and overall healthy fun).

We all had a glass of wine (a very small sip for the two youngest) and fed to our heart's content.

This is something to be repeated as it also provided an interesting alternative to the typical New Year Resolutions.

As we invented different adventures for the Magi, we realized that though the religious view has always stressed that they came to adore the Messiah, to get there they had to have had a vision and the strength of mind and dedication to follow that star.

So we shared our vision for the coming year - one particular point each. Travel, spending more time together, work and school related, and so on.

In all a moment of great joy. And a great lesson for all, but especially the children (5).

The lesson: the importance of having a vision (a goal) and the willingness to go for it.

Let's see what happens next year.