I have mentioned before that technically Twelfth Night "should" be January 5th but that we in the U.S. celebrate it January 6th, the day after...here's some good info on the evolution of celebrations associated with Twelfth Night...
Twelfth Night is of course the night that the Three Wise Men visited the Nativity and gave gifts...
We're giving gifts for Twelfth Night to parade goers, including some that reflect Joan's three Voices (St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret)--consider them, perhaps her Two Wise Women and One Wise Man. The photos above are of the Poor Clare Monastery on Henry Clay Avenue in Uptown New Orleans, where Sister Rita Hickey lives and makes crafts that are sold in their excellent gift shop.
She made 50 magnets of Joan's Voices (and some of Joan herself) just for us (don't worry, we paid The Poor Clares for them!), perfectly representing the sentiment of the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc...handmade items that we give, not THROW to the public.
It's one of the things that makes our parade a nice bridge between Christmas and Mardi Gras...we give gifts, we recognize Joan's Christian heritage, and we make cool stuff that's not plastic.
I mean, do you think it would have been cool if the Magi threw Baby Jesus some beads??? Okay don't answer that...
But do come to our parade in the hopes of catching stuff made by local hands.
