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Tuesday, January 6, 2026 · Past event
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Epiphany 2026
Event overview
Epiphany 2026 — Christian feast on Jan 6 marking the visit of the Magi to the Christ child; observed as Three Kings' Day in Hispanic and Mediterranean cultures and as Theophany in Eastern Orthodoxy.
Epiphany 2026 — the Christian feast of the Magi's visit to the Christ child — falling on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Observed as Three Kings' Day in Hispanic and Mediterranean cultures, as Theophany in Eastern Orthodoxy, and as the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas in Western liturgical tradition.
Epiphany (from the Greek epiphaneia, "manifestation" or "revelation") falls on January 6 — the twelfth day of Christmas — across the Western Christian and Eastern Orthodox calendars. The feast commemorates several intertwined "manifestations" of Christ to the world: in the Western tradition, primarily the visit of the Magi (the Three Kings) to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1–12); in the Eastern tradition, primarily the baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist (Mark 1:9–11). Both traditions also commemorate Christ's first miracle at the wedding at Cana.
The Epiphany date of January 6 predates the Christmas date of December 25 in Christian history. Early Christians celebrated the Lord's nativity on Epiphany; the December 25 date emerged in 4th-century Rome and gradually became the dominant Western Christmas date, with Epiphany retaining the visit of the Magi as its primary focus. Several Eastern churches — the Armenian Apostolic Church most prominently — still celebrate Christ's birth on January 6 alongside the baptism, treating Epiphany as a unified Nativity-and-Theophany feast.
The 12 days of Christmas — December 25 to January 5 — culminate on the Eve of Epiphany ("Twelfth Night"). In the traditional Western calendar, January 6 is when nativity scenes (Belén, presepio) are completed by adding the figures of the Magi, and when Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down. In the Hispanic world, January 6 — Día de los Reyes — is when children traditionally receive Christmas gifts (rather than December 25), making Three Kings' Day the principal gift-giving occasion in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina and many Latin American countries.
In Hispanic culture, Día de los Reyes is celebrated with the Cabalgata de Reyes — a public procession of the Three Kings on Epiphany Eve (January 5), with Magi figures throwing sweets to children watching from the streets. Madrid's Cabalgata, with horseback Magi, floats and confetti, draws around 700,000 spectators. Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Havana, and the major Spanish provincial capitals all stage major Cabalgatas. The day's special food is Rosca de Reyes — a ring-shaped sweet bread with candied fruit and a hidden figurine of the Christ child; whoever finds the figurine is responsible for hosting the Candlemas party on February 2.
In France, the equivalent food is the galette des rois — a flat almond-cream pastry containing a hidden ceramic figurine (fève); the finder is crowned king or queen for the day. In Italy, Epiphany is observed with the witch-figure Befana, who delivers gifts to children on Epiphany Eve; in Russia, Greece, and the Orthodox world, Theophany is observed with the Great Blessing of Waters, in which the priest blesses a body of water (often a frozen river or sea) and worshippers — including, famously, Russian Orthodox men — plunge into the icy waters as a symbolic rebaptism.
In Britain, the Cathedral of Westminster and Chichester host the Three Kings Mass; in Germany and Austria, children dressed as the Magi go house-to-house chanting and writing the year's Christian blessing (e.g., 20+C+M+B+26 — for "Christus Mansionem Benedicat") in chalk on doorways. Bavaria, parts of Austria, and several German Catholic states observe January 6 as a public holiday.
The Vatican publishes the papal Epiphany Mass schedule. Spanish, Mexican, Argentine and Italian state TV broadcast the major Cabalgatas live. The Russian Orthodox Church streams the Theophany Great Blessing of Waters from the Moskva River. Diaspora parishes — Catholic and Orthodox — organise community Three Kings programmes and Theophany blessings.
Epiphany 2026 caps the Christmas season started by Christmas 2026 and forms part of the wider Christian calendar alongside Advent 2026, Pentecost 2026, and Orthodox Easter 2026.
When is Epiphany 2026? Tuesday, January 6, 2026. What does Epiphany commemorate? In the West, primarily the visit of the Magi; in the East, primarily the baptism of Christ; both traditions also commemorate Christ's first miracle at Cana. Is Epiphany when the Christmas decorations come down? Yes, in the traditional Western calendar — Twelfth Night (the Eve of Epiphany) is when decorations are taken down, although modern practice is highly varied. What's Día de los Reyes? The Hispanic celebration of the Three Kings on January 6 — the principal gift-giving day of the Christmas season in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and much of Latin America.
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