Let’s begin with a little survey.

How many of you have you have taken down your Christmas tree and packed up all the festive decorations until next December? How many of you are still living with your Christmas bling-bling? I thought so. There are not too many of us who hold on and hold out until the passing of Epiphany to take down our Christmas décor.

This year Epiphany, January 6, falls on Tuesday, a nondescript day of the week. We are back at work. Kids are back at school. Post-Christmas and New Year’s sales are over. It’s too early to plan for “President’s Day” or Valentine’s Day.

We find Epiphany, the day the Magi finally reached Mary and Joseph and offered their extravagant gifts to the baby Jesus, slightly off-putting.

Maybe it is because we’ve jumped the gun and have already opened…