From: Catholic News Agency

Feast day: January 06

The Epiphany of Our Lord is the Christian feast observed on Jan. 6, 2016.  The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphainen, a verb that means “to shine upon,” “to manifest,” or “to make known.” Thus, the feast of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made Himself known to the world, mainly the three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ:  the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11), and the miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11). 

The visit of the Magi is emphasized on Epiphany Day, and Christ’s baptism is celebrated the first Sunday that follows.

Hispanic Three Kings Celebration

In Spanish Speaking countries the traditional day for gift giving is the arrival of the ‘Tres Reyes” on January 6th. Liturgically, the feast of the Epiphany will be celebrated today, Sunday, January 5th. However this year the arrival of those mysterious kings will be delayed (no doubt due to bad weather) and so the Hispanic community will have their potluck dinner with gifts for children on January 12th following the Spanish mass.