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Epiphany
Epiphany
Also called: Twelfth Night, Three Kings Day, Día de Reyes (Spanish), La Befana (Italy), Theophany (Eastern), Timkat (Ethiopian)
January 6 (fixed)
All Christians
Epiphany marks the moment Jesus was revealed to the wider world — whether as the visit of the Wise Men (in the West) or his baptism in the River Jordan (in the East). It falls on 6 January and closes the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'.
In Spain and Latin America, children receive gifts on Three Kings Day; in Greece, priests throw a cross into icy water for swimmers to retrieve. Churches bless chalk, water, or homes for the year ahead.
Eden lists Holy Land pilgrimages where you can walk the routes of the Magi and visit the Jordan River.
At a glance
- Type
- solemnity
- Date type
- Fixed (same date every year)
- Regions
- Global
- Themes
- Life of Christ, Mary
- Liturgical colour
- White, Gold
Common questions
Epiphany is observed on January 6 (fixed). Moveable feasts shift each year; fixed feasts stay on the same calendar date.
The feast commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the world. In Western Christianity (Catholic, Protestant, Anglican), Epiphany primarily celebrates the arrival of the Magi at Bethlehem. In Eastern Christianity, it is called Theophany and commemorates Christ's Baptism in the Jordan River, with a blessing of waters as a central rite. In Hispanic and Latino cultures, January 6 is "Día de Reyes"
It is associated with All Christians. It falls in the Epiphany season of the liturgical year.