Three Kings Celebration

Well, our tree is still up, as are most of the Christmas decorations, because at our house, the Twelve Days of Christmas are very special, and yes, still part of Christmas. It’s a time when we slow down from the mad dash of the pre-Christmas activities that allows time for reflection. Though the anticipated high winds (and temps well below zero) forced us to bring some of the porch decorations inside, the indoor decorations remain at least through January 6th. When they’ll get put away is anybody’s guess :), because we haven’t even talked about it!

And, if you’re familiar with Chickadee Home Nest, you might recall that the Three Kings visit our home and leave {a few} more gifts for the little chickadees. That’s the way it was done in Cuba, and we want to carry the tradition on.

The last several years Mr. CHN and I have had a gathering at our home to celebrate the Three Kings’ arrival at the manger (you can see the 2012 post HERE).

Did you know the Three Kings are not named in the Bible? I need to look up where their names, Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar originated—does anyone out there know and can save me the research?

AND…

Did you know that there is no mention in the Bible of there being three? The three gifts are listed, but it could’ve been one, or twelve, or any number who came to honor Him and bow down at His side. 

Last year’s decorations for our Three Kings celebration were about jewel tones and large kings at the table. This year, the tone was set by the Mexican nativity scene my MIL and FIL gave us years ago~

Since I love the story of Jesus’s birth and the Three Kings following the star to reach Him, I love nativity scenes and have several, so I rotate them. This one was set out for Christmas 2012 (you can see it HERE), but it only came out for the Three Kings celebration this year.

 

  Last week Baby Love (the oldest chickadee) set Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar (from the unbreakable but lovely Fontanini set they play with) away from the nativity scene, since they hadn’t arrived yet.

 

At our Three Kings celebration each of the three oldest children was allowed to place one of the Three Kings back in the nativity scene.

 

We looked at pictures and talked about Baby Jesus’s birth and where He slept, how the Three Kings followed the bright star to find Him, their names, and the gifts they brought, then the food was served.

 

This was the setting before the food was presented.

 

The Reason for the Season.

In the background you can see Mary and Joseph’s detailed, hand-painted gowns. Such wonderful craftsmanship!

 

And here they are!

Melchior,

Gaspar,

and

Balthazar.

Aren’t their faces so sweet?

And now… Come on, everyone! The treats are served!

The menu was simple, and geared more to the children, but because I can only go along with so much junk food for the baby chickadees, we also had yogurt for them (hiding sweet little one’s face) and vegetables. Our almost-4 chickadee asked to sit in the high chair after the littlest was done and asked me if I would get him some vegetables! Yes!! :)

 

The idea for the Donut-Hole Tree came from One Charming Party, where she made it with regular donuts. (I’ll have the tutorial for my version next week perhaps?). It was a big hit visually as well as for the palate. The Donut-Hole Tree is surrounded by Rolos candies, because they look like small crowns.

We also served a variety of turrones (tiered server and to the right of the server), or nougat bars, that are made in Spain but were immensely popular in pre-Castro Cuba. They are the “little dessert” of choice in every Cuban family’s holiday gatherings. My mother’s friends in Florida still send them to her every year. As a hostess gift one guest brought individual guava pastries—we call them pastelitos de guayaba--(front) that were delish, and are always a welcome addition. (Unfortunately, I was a bit late taking pictures of the food, thus the empty plate to the left.)

 

The wood Crate and Barrel “vessel” was perfectly suited for this gold-yet-rustic table. After all, there was nothing fancy about Baby Jesus’s manger.

  Drinks were served at the bar setup…punch with crown ice mold, and Cuban hot chocolate (recipe will follow soon)! Remember Starbucks’ now-discontinued Chantico hot chocolate? I STILL miss it, but this is a worthy replacement, and I might add, worth every.single.calorie. To add a few more calories enhancements to it: Whipped cream made with my iSi whipper (you can read all about this favorite gadget HERE) and mini chocolate morsels served in the sugar scuttle.

 

The frozen juice ring was made with my Nordic pan, with dried apricots and Craisins as gemstones.

And before closing, a few more pictures of the Mexican nativity scene for your enjoyment ~

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

I WISH EACH OF YOU THE VERY BEST IN 2014!

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Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

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