More than Three Kings at Our School
During the Epiphany season, pupils from Mohylová Elementary School traditionally prepared a royal musical performance for young and old alike, participating in the nationwide Epiphany charity collection.
As usual, we combined the charity event with English lessons and learned one of the carols in both Czech and English. The main character of our song this year was our medieval ruler, a prince whom the author of the English carol called "Good King Wenceslas." And while three kings (three wise men) from the East traveled to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, born in a poor cave, "King" Wenceslas waded through the deep snowdrifts of a Czech Christmas to help a poor farmer.
Both stories, this of the Three Kings (wise men) and taht of St. Wenceslas, tell of a journey to find someone who needs help. In our school environment, these stories reflect not only the help that the children chose to give in the form of donations to the Three Kings collection box for needy families in Prague 13, but also the help that the pupils show throughout the school year when they help each other with explaining the curriculum, searching for lost items around the school, or listening to each other when someone is troubled and needs to confide in someone.
Perhaps that is why the English poet called the Czech prince Wenceslas the GOOD KING – the Epiphany season (in Czech called "season of three kings - wise men") teaches each of us to become a good king or queen.
