Feast of the Epiphany
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The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the oldest Christian celebrations throughout many centuries as it has been celebrated a variety of ways. Epiphany comes from the Greek verb meaning “to reveal” and one of the many events celebrated on that day are the discoveries of Christ to man. The Epiphany, like many other ancient Christian feasts was first celebrated in the East on January 6th of every year. In modern day, to those who are Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox know the feast as Theophany, the discovery of God to man. The series of celebrations on this special day includes the Baptism of the Lord, Christ’s first miracle, in the Cana wedding, the changing of water into wine, the Nativity of Christ, and the visiting of the Wise Men. As a celebration to the visiting of the Three Kings, or Wise Men from the East, gifts are given out to the children. The Three Kings were one of the few devotees that believed Jesus Christ was the Messiah as a child and the Three Kings traveled thousands of miles to worship Jesus. The story stated that the Three Kings followed a star that led them to Jesus in a house when he was still young. In return God honored the wise men by warning them in a dream to go home on another route and not to report to King Herod.
In Peru, Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated through most lands of the Spanish-speaking world. The Feast of the Epiphany is also known as the Three Kings’ Day which follows after Christmas. In old timey Europe, Christmas was celebrated as a twelve-day festival where “The Twelve Days of Christmas” originated from. The twelfth day would the day of Christmas, close to the end of the Christmas festival and December 25th would be the first day of Christmas. The festival goes on until January 5th, or the “Twelfth Night”. This would mean that January 6th, the day after the festival of Christmas has ended is when the Feast of the Epiphany would be celebrated. This day would be spent as entertainment for the holiday that included celebrating with festivity and gift-giving. Epiphany is the arrival of the three kings giving gifts and the end of the Christmas festival. Many families kept the old tradition of exchanging gifts, while others in the mountain area have folk dances, parties, and feasts. On the Feast of the Epiphany, people memorialize the Three Kings’ reverence of the child Jesus. The Tree Kings’ Day is still commonly celebrated throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Spain. Many children received gifts and even some cities held elaborate parades. In specifically Peru, Three Kings’ Day is known as la Bajada de los reyes magos and many celebrants eat rosca de reyes, a well-known sweet bready dessert. Sometimes in Lima, the people did a “Preuvianized” reenactment of the meeting of Jesus and his royal devotees. Three men dress in traditional Andean garb and had gifts that were presented to the Christ child. Two adults act as Joseph and Mary and a very sleepy baby plays as Jesus. The play also incorporated elements of the story of salvation in the Old Testament to Jesus’ birth. At the end of the day the kings would give gifts to the children as each child wrote a letter to each of the three kings requesting presents. In the Center of Lima, a performance is held by the members of the police force acting as the Three Kings occurring for more than 25 years already. On January 6th was the same day Francisco Pizarro had conquered the city, while the Peruvians celebrated Three Kings’ Day which gave Lima the name “The City of the Kings”.
In Peru, Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated through most lands of the Spanish-speaking world. The Feast of the Epiphany is also known as the Three Kings’ Day which follows after Christmas. In old timey Europe, Christmas was celebrated as a twelve-day festival where “The Twelve Days of Christmas” originated from. The twelfth day would the day of Christmas, close to the end of the Christmas festival and December 25th would be the first day of Christmas. The festival goes on until January 5th, or the “Twelfth Night”. This would mean that January 6th, the day after the festival of Christmas has ended is when the Feast of the Epiphany would be celebrated. This day would be spent as entertainment for the holiday that included celebrating with festivity and gift-giving. Epiphany is the arrival of the three kings giving gifts and the end of the Christmas festival. Many families kept the old tradition of exchanging gifts, while others in the mountain area have folk dances, parties, and feasts. On the Feast of the Epiphany, people memorialize the Three Kings’ reverence of the child Jesus. The Tree Kings’ Day is still commonly celebrated throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Spain. Many children received gifts and even some cities held elaborate parades. In specifically Peru, Three Kings’ Day is known as la Bajada de los reyes magos and many celebrants eat rosca de reyes, a well-known sweet bready dessert. Sometimes in Lima, the people did a “Preuvianized” reenactment of the meeting of Jesus and his royal devotees. Three men dress in traditional Andean garb and had gifts that were presented to the Christ child. Two adults act as Joseph and Mary and a very sleepy baby plays as Jesus. The play also incorporated elements of the story of salvation in the Old Testament to Jesus’ birth. At the end of the day the kings would give gifts to the children as each child wrote a letter to each of the three kings requesting presents. In the Center of Lima, a performance is held by the members of the police force acting as the Three Kings occurring for more than 25 years already. On January 6th was the same day Francisco Pizarro had conquered the city, while the Peruvians celebrated Three Kings’ Day which gave Lima the name “The City of the Kings”.