Epiphany and the Three Kings

When: Every year on January 6 (January 19 in some Orthodox churches)

Epiphany means “showing”. In the West it remembers the visit of the wise men, who followed a star to find the child Jesus. In the Orthodox churches the same day, called Theophany, remembers the baptism of Jesus. In many countries it is the day of gifts.

Where it came from

The story of the wise men is told only in the Gospel of Matthew. They came from the East, followed a star, and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Bible does not say there were three, or that they were kings. The number three comes from the three gifts. Later tradition gave them names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.

Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian feasts, older than Christmas in the East. In the early church it marked the birth of Jesus, his baptism and his first sign at Cana together. In the West it came to focus on the wise men, who show that Jesus came for all nations. In the East it focuses on Jesus's baptism, when the Trinity was shown.

How it is kept around the world

• Spain and Latin America. Children receive gifts from the Three Kings on January 6, the Día de los Reyes. On the night before, they leave shoes out, and in some places grass or water for the camels. Towns hold parades.
• Mexico. Families eat a ring-shaped sweet bread, the rosca de reyes, with a little baby figure baked inside. Whoever finds it hosts a tamale meal on February 2.
• France. People share a galette des rois, a flaky almond cake with a small charm inside. The one who finds it becomes king or queen for the day.
• Italy. La Befana, a kindly old woman who flies on a broom, leaves sweets in children's stockings on the night of January 5.
• Germany and Austria. Children dressed as the Three Kings, the Sternsinger, go from house to house singing and chalk a blessing on the door, such as 20*C+M+B+27.
• The Philippines. The feast of the Three Kings, Tatlong Hari, is kept with processions and children's shoes on the windowsill.
• Greece and Orthodox countries. Priests bless the waters, and men and boys dive into the sea or a river to fetch a cross thrown into it. It is kept on January 6, and on January 19 for churches that follow the older calendar.

Christians differ

Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches keep Epiphany on January 6, or on a nearby Sunday, with the wise men. Orthodox churches keep Theophany, with the baptism of Jesus. Many Protestant churches in the Baptist and Pentecostal traditions do not keep the day but still read the story of the wise men at Christmas.

Some people ask whether the wise men really came, since only Matthew tells it. Christians read it differently, some as history and some as a story that teaches who Jesus is. All agree it shows people from far away seeking Jesus.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2

• Look at a star in a picture book or out the window at night. Say “star” and follow it with your finger.
• Put three small boxes in a row and say “gift, gift, gift”.

Ages 3 to 5

• Make three paper gifts and give them to the baby Jesus in the nativity scene.
• Follow a “star trail” you make with paper stars around the house.

Ages 6 to 8

• Bake or buy a ring-shaped bread and hide a small bean in it, to find together.
• Learn how people in another country celebrate Three Kings Day.

Ages 9 to 12

• Read Matthew 2:1–12. List what the Bible says and what later tradition added.
• Look up the Sternsinger and chalk a blessing for your own door with a grown-up's permission.

Ages 13 to 17

• Read Matthew 2 and Isaiah 60:1–6 together. Why would Matthew include people from outside Israel in the story?
• Think of a gift you could give that is not gold, frankincense or myrrh, but is just as true.

A short prayer

God, you led the wise men to Jesus by a star. Lead us to him, and help us to share your light with people far and near. Amen.

Mark as done

Where this comes from

• Gospel of Matthew 2:1–12 and 3:13–17
• Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, new updated ed. (Doubleday, 1993)
• Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Origins of Feasts, Fasts and Seasons in Early Christianity (Liturgical Press, 2011)
• F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), entries “Epiphany” and “Magi”

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.