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TheEpiphany season, also known asEpiphanytide or the time ofSundays after Epiphany, is aliturgical period, celebrated by manyChristian Churches, which immediately follows theChristmas season. It begins onEpiphany Day, and ends at various points (such asCandlemas) as defined by those denominations. The typicalliturgical color for the day of Epiphany is white, and the typical color for Epiphany season is green.
Popular Epiphanytide customs includeEpiphany singing,chalking the door and families inviting their pastor tobless their home.[1]
TheOrdinary Form of theRoman Rite of theCatholic Church regards the time after Epiphany as a subset of theChristmas season. The Christmas season ends on February 2nd, with theFeast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, also known asCandlemas or theFeast of the Presentation of the Lord. Some Catholics believe the Christmas Season ends on theFeast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is typically celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany. Although Epiphany is not a distinct season, the Ordinary Form does have specificMasscollects that are used from Epiphany onward.[2] Because Epiphany is, in many places, transferred to the Sunday between January 2 and 8 inclusive, the period during which the Epiphany texts are used forms ade factooctave between the Sunday of Epiphany and the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. Christmas season is followed byOrdinary Time.
Intraditionalist Catholic communities that use theGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960 as part of theExtraordinary Form authorized bySummorum Pontificum, Epiphany is celebrated with ade factooctave from January 6 to theFeast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 13, although the octave was nominally removed in thecalendar reforms of 1955. The Sundays which follow are designated "Sundays after Epiphany" or "Time after Epiphany" until the start ofPre-Lent.[3]
In 2015, the Catholic Church authorized a Use of the Roman Rite for the threePersonal Ordinariates for former Anglicans. TheOrdinariate Use explicitly includes a period called Epiphanytide, which runs from the Monday after theFeast of the Baptism of the Lord until the day beforeAsh Wednesday.[4]
In theMoravian Church, the Epiphany season runs until the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.[5] While white is the liturgical colour used for the Feast of the Epiphany itself, the Sundays during the rest of the season use green.[5]
InLutheranism, Epiphanytide runs fromEpiphany Day untilSeptuagesima Sunday—three Sundays beforeShrove Tuesday—(as with theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark),[6] or from Epiphany Day until the day beforeAsh Wednesday (as with theEvangelical Lutheran Church in America).[7][8]
There are provided six "Sundays after Epiphany" in theBook of Common Prayer, to be used for the varying number of Sundays after Epiphany untilSeptuagesima.[9] In 2000, theChurch of England introduced into its liturgy an optional Epiphany season by approving theCommon Worship series of services as an alternative to those in theBook of Common Prayer. This optional season begins withEvening Prayer on the day before the Epiphany (which may be celebrated on January 6 or on the Sunday between January 2 and 8) and ends onCandlemas, which celebrates thePresentation of Jesus at the Temple.[10] (which may be celebrated on February 2 or on the Sunday between January 28 and February 3).
InMethodism, the Epiphany season runs fromEpiphany Day untilAsh Wednesday, the first day of Lent.[11][12] White is liturgical colour for Epiphany Day itself, as well as for theBaptism of the Lord and theFeast of the Transfiguration, while green is the liturgical colour used for the rest of the season.[13]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: subsections about other Eastern rites. You can help byadding missing information.(December 2020) |
In theGreek Rite (used by variousOrthodox andByzantine Catholic churches), the Feast of the Epiphany takes place on January 6. TheLiturgy of St. Basil is celebrated with Vespers on the eve of the feast; and the Vigil is made up of Great Compline and Matins. TheDivine Liturgy tells the story of Jesus's baptism. After Vespers and the Divine Liturgy, the Great Blessing of the Water takes place. The celebrant immerses the cross into the water three times and then blesses the people with the water.[14] It is customary in theses churches for the faithful to drink the water and to take it home for use throughout the year.[15]
In theEast Syriac Rite (used by churches such as theSyro-Malabar Church), this period is called the Season of Epiphany, also known by its SyriactransliterationDenha. This season begins on the Sunday between January 2 and 6, or on January 6 itself if no such Sunday exists. The season runs until the first Sunday of Lent, which begins seven weeks before Easter (three days earlier than it does in Western Christianity).
The rite celebrates the following feast days on sequential Fridays during Epiphany season:[16]
Because the length of the Season of Epiphany is variable, later Friday feasts are sometimes moved to earlier weeks.[17]
TheThree Days' Lent occurs during this season.[18]
In theWest Syriac Rite (used by theMaronite Church, theSyriac Orthodox Church, theSyriac Catholic Church and various Malankara Churches of India), the season begins on January 6 on theFeast of the Baptism of the Lord, called Denho ("appearance" or "sunrise") inWest Syriac dialect.[19] For some Syriac churches, this season may be the traditional time of reception ofcatechumens into the Church. In Maronite culture many people wait to have their babies initiated (i.e., baptized and chrismated) on or after Denho.[20]
For many Protestant church traditions, the season of Epiphany extends from 6 January until Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent leading to Easter.)
The Christmas season is often celebrated for twelve days, ending with the Epiphany. Contemporary use has sought to express an alternative tradition, in which Christmas lasts for a full forty days, ending with theFeast of the Presentation on February 2.
Epiphany Day is always Twelfth Night or January 6, and in Methodist usage the Epiphany Season includes all the Sundays between that date and Ash Wednesday, which for 1964 will be February 12, the beginning of Lent.
The Methodist Church in Singapore observes seven Christian seasons throughout the year: Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, Pentecost and Kingdomtide.
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