While some will say that Christmas is a day (December 25th), others claim that it is a celebration for 8 days (the “Octave” of Christmas). But we’ve all heard the Christmas carol “Twelve Days of Christmas” and there is a solid liturgical precedent for claiming that Christmas is really 12 days long. Twelve days after Christmas is the feast of the Epiphany, the day which marks when the magi encountered Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and gave Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Thus, in the Roman rite of the Church, the Epiphany celebrates the culmination of Christmas and the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God.
But here’s where it gets a little confusing. While the traditional date for the Feast of the Epiphany is Jan. 6, in the United States the celebration is moved to the second Sunday after Christmas in the novus ordo (the new order of the Mass). This year, in 2023, we American Catholics will celebrate Epiphany on Jan. 8!
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For reflection: While some of our Christmas lights have already been taken down and boxed-up, these past two weeks have been marked by their light, guiding us in a symbolic way through the dark valley of our lives. It is no coincidence that Christmas is celebrated in the depth of winter, just after the winter solstice, as we look forward in hope to the longer days of light and the new life ready to burst forth.
In His public ministry, Jesus will say that He is “the Light of the world.” John 1 says that “the Light shines in the darkness and that the darkness cannot overpower it.” It is with this hope that we long to see the darkness of our world put to flight. May we place our full and complete trust in the Lord’s saving power and the precious gift of His Light planted in our hearts.
