Epiphany

On January 6th we celebrate the Christian feast day known as Epiphany.  Epiphany, from the Greek ἐπιφάνεια, means “manifestation”.  The purpose of the feast is to celebrate the revelation of the Incarnation – God taking on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.  The coming of the Magi is celebrated on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, and the Baptism of Our Lord is celebrated on the First Sunday after the Epiphany. January 6 was also the day the winter solstice was kept at some places during the first centuries of the Christian Era. In opposition to pagan festivals, Christians chose this day to celebrate the various manifestations, or “epiphanies,” of Jesus’ divinity. These showings of his divinity included his birth, the coming of the Magi, his baptism, and the Wedding at Cana where he miraculously changed water into wine. The eastern church continued to celebrate the Baptism of our Lord and the Wedding at Cana on Jan. 6.  It was known in the earliest centuries as the feast of the Manifestation, the Theophany, and the Feast of Light.  Second only to Easter in importance, Epiphany was observed as early as the second or third century.