All from Sheba Shall Come, Bearing Gold and Frankincense, and Proclaiming the Praises of the Lord.

Today is the feast of the Epiphany, the last day of the twelve days of Christmas. It marks the day of the visitation of the Three Kings to the Infant Jesus, and the first time that our Lord revealed Himself to the Gentiles. The Liturgy for Epiphany is very like to that of Christmas day itself. You can read about some of the traditions particular to this feast day here.

I missed posting yesterday, because I was too busy to sit down and do it properly, so I am finishing off with two songs today. The first is from Handel's Messiah, and is far more fitted to Christmas-time than the more popular Hallelujah Chorus. Besides, I have posted a lot of old, very traditional and largely folk-ish carols this year, so it seemed fitting to include this quite magnificent classical piece:

 

And to complement it, here is a beautiful, timeless carol, based on Christina Rosetti's poem. It has some of the most lyrical descriptions of winter you are likely to find - I particularly like the phrase "snow had fallen, snow on snow" because, as people in snowy climates know, that is exactly what it is like. The ending verse seem particularly fitting for today:

 

Today is also Sherlock Holmes' birthday - at least, according to this article. So, many happy returns of the day, Sherlock! You are not expected to come for dinner, as there are likely going to be people there, but hopefully someone will provide you with a cake that looks like this:

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