So Merry Christmas to you.

And a Happy Boxing Day to you. The Mexicans (and other Latin Americans) do their gift-giving on January 6th, Epiphany, el Día de los Tres Reyes, or the Twelfth Day of Christmas (link). The relics of the Magi are in a lovely golden reliquary in the cathedral of Cologne (link). The relics were presented to the Archbishop of Cologne by Friedrich Barbarossa in the 12th century and have been a tourist attraction since. And that's why the city escutcheon has three crowns on it. For Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. If you ever find yourself in Kölle om Ring, standing in front of the Dom, be sure two visit two nearby musts: the Römisch-Germanisches Museum (built over the site of a Roman villa with a wonderful mosaic of Dionysus, link) and the Cölner Hofbräu Früh for a Kölsch and a halver Hahn (link).

Ceci n'est pas un seing.