I just had an epiphany last night … that today is Epiphany! The 12 days of Christmas are finally done (yes, so many Americans believe the 12 days of Christmas comes in the run up to Christmas Day but in fact, the countdown begins after Christmas is over).

What’s it all about? What’s it all mean?

Well, traditionally Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 6 as the day that the three kings arrived to see baby Jesus in Bethlehem. In our house, we also give one present for Epiphany – a little post-Christmas something-something that is always welcome as we enter the January blahs.

On a practical note, Epiphany heralds the end of the Christmas season and signals that on Jan. 7, it’s time to take the Christmas tree down and all other Christmas accoutrements.

Which is also why Brits typically don’t buy their Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. You gotta keep the tree alive (or just hanging on…) until Jan. 6. Ours did very well this year, considering we bought it the second week of December. I think I’ve stumbled upon the proverbial fountain of youth secret for Christmas trees (but I’ll save that for another post …).

Now if we could only clue in our trash pick-up people (who always schedule their Christmas tree disposal prior to Epiphany) …