Happy Epiphany!

"Epiphany" comes from the Greek for "manifestation" or "appearance."

From Worship Wordbook (ed. Van Loon and Stauffer):

"The festival on January 6 celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the world, recalling the visit of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12).

"The date of January 6 coincided with the winter solstice in the eastern part of the mediterranean world, where this festival was first observed in the third century. This observance pre-dates the December 25 Christmas observance by a century.

"The number of magi is not known; the fact of the three gifts (Matt. 2:11) may account for the idea of three magi. They may have been sages who specialized in astronomy, perhaps Zoroastrian priests from Persia (present-day Iran). That they were Gentiles, not Jews, is why the Epiphany festival celebrates the revelation of Jesus as the Christ to the whole world.

"The gift of gold was valuable, a gift fit for a king. Frankincense was a type of incense used in worship, symbolizing prayers rising to God. Myrrh was a fragrant resin used in oil for anointing and to prepare a body for burial (John 19:39)."