Epiphany (holiday)
Epiphany, also known as Theophany in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana.
In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus Christ's physical manifestation to the Gentiles. It is sometimes called Three Kings' Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide.
Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God, and celebrate it as the Feast of the Epiphany or of the Theophany. The traditional site of the ministry of John the Baptist is in Al-Maghtas in Jordan, with the baptism of Jesus once marked in Byzantine times by a cross in the middle of the Jordan River, between the Jordanian site and Qasr al-Yahud in the West Bank.
The traditional date for the feast is January 6. However, since 1970 the celebration has been held in some countries on the Sunday after January 1. Those Eastern Churches that are still following the Julian calendar observe the feast on what, according to the internationally used Gregorian calendar, is 19 January, because of the current 13-day difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Alawites and the Middle Eastern Christians also observe the feast on January 19.
In many Western Churches, the eve of the feast is celebrated as Twelfth Night on January 5. The Monday after Epiphany is known as Plough Monday.
Popular Epiphany customs include Epiphany singing, chalking the door, having one's house blessed, consuming Three Kings Cake, winter swimming, as well as attending church services. It is customary for Christians in many localities to remove their Christmas decorations on Epiphany Eve, although those in other Christian countries historically remove them on Candlemas, the conclusion of Epiphanytide. According to one seventeenth-century tradition, it is inauspicious to remove Christmas decorations before Epiphany Eve and those who do not remove them on that date have the opportunity to take them down on Candlemas.
Etymology
The word Epiphany is from Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epipháneia, meaning manifestation or appearance. It is derived from the verb φαίνειν, phainein, meaning 'to appear'. In classical Greek it was used for the appearance of dawn, of an enemy in war, but especially of a manifestation of a deity to a worshipper. In the Septuagint the word is used of a manifestation of the God of Israel. In the New Testament the word is used in to refer either to the birth of Christ or to his appearance after his resurrection, and five times to refer to his Second Coming.Alternative names for the feast in Greek include τα Θεοφάνια, η Ημέρα των Φώτων, and τα Φώτα.
In Egypt, it is called Eid al-Ghitas.
History
Early history
Epiphany may have originated in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire as a feast to honor the baptism of Jesus. Around 200, the theologian Clement of Alexandria wrote: The Egyptian dates given correspond to January 6 and 10. The followers of Basilides were a Gnostic sect.The reference to "readings" suggests that the Basilides were reading the Gospels. In ancient gospel manuscripts, the text is arranged to indicate passages for liturgical readings. If a congregation began reading Mark at the beginning of the year, it might arrive at the story of the Baptism on January 6, thus explaining the date of the feast. If Christians read Mark in the same format the Basilides did, the two groups could have arrived at the January 6 date independently.
The earliest reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast was in AD 361, by Ammianus Marcellinus. The holiday is listed twice, which suggests a double feast of baptism and birth. The baptism of Jesus was originally assigned to the same date as the birth because was read to mean that Jesus was exactly 30 when he was baptized; it is said by many Church Fathers that Jesus was the age of 30, although not necessarily exactly that age.
Epiphanius of Salamis says that January 6 is Christ's "Birthday; that is, His Epiphany". He also asserts that the Wedding at Cana occurred on the same calendar day. Epiphanius assigns the Baptism to November 6.
The scope to Epiphany expanded to include the commemoration of his birth; the visit of the Magi, all of Jesus' childhood events, up to and including the Baptism by John the Baptist; and even the miracle at the wedding at Cana in Galilee.
In the Latin-speaking West, the holiday emphasized the visit of the Magi. The Magi represented the non-Jewish peoples of the world, so this was considered a "revelation to the gentiles". In this event, Christian writers also inferred a revelation to the Israelites. John Chrysostom identified the significance of the meeting between the Magi and Herod's court:
Even before 354, the Western Church had separated the celebration of the Nativity of Christ as the feast of Christmas and set its date as December 25; it reserved January 6 as a commemoration of the manifestation of Christ, especially to the Magi, but also at his baptism and at the wedding feast of Cana.
In 385, the pilgrim Egeria described a celebration in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which she called Epiphany that commemorated the Nativity. Even at this early date, there was an octave associated with the feast. The Georgian Chantbook of Jerusalem compiled in the mid 6th century contains hymns for this feast that were likely written between the time of Egeria and the turn of the 6th century.
In a sermon delivered on December 25, 380, St. Gregory of Nazianzus referred to the day as the Theophany, saying expressly that it is a day commemorating "the holy nativity of Christ" and told his listeners that they would soon be celebrating the baptism of Christ. Then, on January 6 and 7, he preached two more sermons, in which he declared that the celebration of the birth of Christ and the visitation of the Magi had already taken place, and that they would now commemorate his Baptism. At this time, celebration of the two events was beginning to be observed on separate occasions, at least in Cappadocia.
St. John Cassian says that even in his time, Egyptian monasteries celebrated the Nativity and the Baptism together on January 6. The Armenian Apostolic Church continues to celebrate January 6 as the only commemoration of the Nativity.
Modern period
In the Latin Church, Epiphany is traditionally celebrated with an octave, beginning on January 6 and ending on January 13. From 1893 until 1955 the Sunday within that octave had been the feast of the Holy Family, and Christmastide was reckoned as the twelve days ending on January 5, followed by the January 6–13 octave. Before the 1969 revision of its liturgy, the Sundays following the Octave of Epiphany or, when this was abolished, following the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which was instituted to take the place of the Octave of Epiphany were named as the "Second Sunday after Epiphany", as the at least 24 Sundays following Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday were known as the "Second Sunday after Pentecost". The Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices, which received the imprimatur of John Michael D'Arcy, with reference to Epiphanytide, thus states that "the Epiphany season extends from January 6 to Septuagesima Sunday, and has from one to six Sundays, according to the date of Easter. White is the color for the octave; green is the liturgical color for the season."In 1955, Pope Pius XII abolished all but three liturgical octaves, thus deleting that of Epiphany, and the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar instituted the current system which makes the date variable to some extent. It also made the Feast of the Epiphany part of Christmastide, which it defined as extending from the First Vespers of Christmas up to and including the Sunday after Epiphany. In 1955 a separate feast of the Baptism of the Lord was also instituted, thus weakening further the connection in the West between the feast of the Epiphany and the commemoration of the baptism of Christ. and kereszt or kereszt-ség
Prior to 1976, Anglican churches also observed an octave beginning on January 6.
Epiphany by Christian tradition
Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is precisely which events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians, the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi, with only a minor reference to the baptism of Jesus and the miracle at the wedding at Cana. Eastern churches celebrate the baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In both traditions, the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world, and the Mystery of the Incarnation. The miracle at the wedding at Cana is also celebrated during Epiphany as a first manifestation of Christ's public life.In some Churches, the feast of the Epiphany initiates the Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide.
Catholic Church
In the Catholic Church, Epiphany is either observed on the traditional fixed date of January 6, or it is transferred to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. Most dioceses in the United States observe the latter. In each system, the date of Epiphany affects the dates of other feasts:- Where Epiphany is always celebrated on January 6, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated the following Sunday. During years where there are two Sundays between Christmas and Epiphany, the second is known as the "Second Sunday after Christmas".
- Where Epiphany is on a moveable date and does not occur on January 6, it is moved earlier to replace the Second Sunday after Christmas in years where it would have occurred; otherwise it is moved later to the following Sunday, and displaces the Feast of the Baptism to the following Monday.
On the Feast of the Epiphany in some parts of central Europe the priest, wearing white vestments, blesses Epiphany water, frankincense, gold, and chalk. The chalk is used to write the initials of the three magi, over the doors of churches and homes. The initials may also be interpreted as the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat.
According to ancient custom, the priest announced the date of Easter on the feast of Epiphany. This tradition dated from a time when calendars were not readily available, and the church needed to publicize the date of Easter, since many celebrations of the liturgical year depend on it. The proclamation may be sung or proclaimed at the ambo by a deacon, cantor, or reader either after the reading of the Gospel or after the postcommunion prayer.
The Roman Missal thus provides a formula with appropriate chant for proclaiming on Epiphany, wherever it is customary to do so, the dates in the calendar for the celebration of Ash Wednesday, Easter Sunday, Ascension of Jesus Christ, Pentecost, the Body and Blood of Christ, and the First Sunday of Advent that will mark the following liturgical year.