In the early Church, Christians, particularly those in the East, celebrated the advent of Christ on Jan. By the fourth century, both Christmas and Epiphany had been set as separate feasts in some dioceses. Over time, the Western Church separated the remaining feasts into their own celebrations, leaving the celebration of the Epiphany to commemorate primarily the Visitation of the Magi to see the newborn Christ on Jan.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Churches' celebration of Theophany celebrates Christ's baptism and is one of the holiest feast days of the liturgical calendar. The celebration of the visitation of the Magi — whom the Bible describes as learned wise men from the East — has developed its own distinct traditions throughout the Roman Church.
As part of the liturgy of the Epiphany, it is traditional to proclaim the date of Easter and other moveable feast days to the faithful — formally reminding the Church of the importance of Easter and the resurrection to both the liturgical year and to the faith. Other cultural traditions have also arisen around the feast. Meanwhile, in Ireland, Catholics celebrate "Women's Christmas" — where women rest from housework and cleaning and celebrate together with a special meal.
Epiphany in Poland is marked by taking chalk — along with gold, incense and amber — to be blessed at Mass. The letters, Bunson explained, stand for the names traditionally given to the wise men — Casper, Melchior and Balthazar — as well as for the Latin phrase "Christus mansionem benedicat," or, "Christ, bless this house.
In nearly every part of the world, Catholics celebrate Epiphany with a Kings Cake: a sweet cake that sometimes contains an object like a figurine or a lone nut. In some locations lucky recipient of this prize either gets special treatment for the day, or they must then hold a party at the close of the traditional Epiphany season on Feb.
These celebrations, Bunson said, point to the family-centered nature of the feast day and of its original celebration with the Holy Family. The star that guides the wise men to Christ also symbolizes Epiphany, as well as the three gifts they gave to Jesus:.
The liturgical color for the Epiphany season is white. The 12 months of the year are linked to the Moon's orbit around Earth. Why are there 12 months? What do the month names mean? This hour time standard is kept using highly precise atomic clocks combined with the Earth's rotation.
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But they believe that an old lady called 'Befana' brings them. Children put stockings up by the fireplace for Befana to fill. In Austria , at Epiphany, some people write a special sign in chalk over their front door. It's a reminder of the Wise Men that visited the baby Jesus. It's made from the year split in two with initials of the names that are sometimes given to 'the three wise men', Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, in the middle.
The sign is meant to protect the house for the coming year. Some parts of Germany also have the tradition of marking over doors. At Epiphany in Belgium , children dress up as the three wise men and go from door to door to sing songs and people give them money or sweets, kind of like Trick or Treating on Halloween.
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