The Epiphany
Strangers from a far country followed a star, and it stopped over a house in Bethlehem.
Nobody knows exactly who they were. The Bible calls them magi, which meant scholars, the kind of men who charted stars for a living. They saw a new one rise and decided it meant a king, so they packed gifts and followed it west for months.
They were not Jewish, and that is the heart of the feast. The first visitors invited in from the wider world were outsiders, foreigners, people from somewhere else entirely. Epiphany means showing. This was the day Jesus was shown to everyone.
They brought gold for a king, frankincense for a God, and myrrh for a burial, which is a strange gift for a baby unless you know the whole story. Then they slipped past King Herod, who had asked them to report back, and went home by another road.
The Epiphany facts for kids
- The Bible never says there were three of them, or that they were kings. Three gifts, so everyone guessed three visitors.
- Tradition named them anyway: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar
- Some families chalk the year and the letters C M B over their door at Epiphany. The initials of the three names, and also of Christus mansionem benedicat, may Christ bless this house.
- In much of the world this is Three Kings Day, and it's the big gift-giving day, bigger than Christmas
Feast day: January 6 · Patron of travelers and stargazers
January 6 is the traditional date, kept in much of the world. In the United States the feast is celebrated on a Sunday in early January.
Jesus, when I see something true, help me follow it all the way there, like the wise men did.