Epiphany

The Gospel of Matthew tells how wise men, the Magi, came from the East following a star, found the child Jesus at Bethlehem and offered him gold, frankincense and myrrh. Later tradition made them three kings and named them Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. For Western Christians they stand for the revealing of Christ to all the nations.

Eastern Christians call the feast Theophany, the “appearance of God”, and celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John in the river Jordan. The Gospels tell that the Spirit came down like a dove and a voice from heaven spoke, so the feast is also a revelation of the Trinity. Some traditions also remember the wedding at Cana, Jesus’ first miracle.

In Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches the great blessing of the waters is celebrated; the faithful take holy water home, and priests visit houses to bless them. In Greece, Bulgaria and parts of Romania, where the feast is called Bobotează, a priest throws a cross into the sea, a river or a lake and young men dive to bring it back.

In the West, Epiphany ends the Christmas season. In German-speaking lands children go from house to house as star singers and chalk the doorway with the year and the letters C+M+B. In Spain children receive gifts from the Three Kings and families share the roscón de reyes; in France the galette des rois hides a bean or figurine that makes its finder king for the day. In Italy, the old woman La Befana brings sweets.

The Three Kings’ parades, cabalgatas, fill the streets of Spanish cities on the evening of 5 January. On 19 January, Russian Orthodox faithful plunge into ice holes cut in the shape of a cross, while in Ethiopia the feast of Timkat, also on 19 January (20 in leap years), brings vast processions with replicas of the Ark of the Covenant.