Almost two weeks after the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the son of Godthe Catholic Christian world celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.
The feast of the Three Kings or Three Kings Day is commonly called Epiphanya word that in Greek means “manifestation”, in the sense that God reveals himself and makes himself known, details ICA Press.
However, the Church celebrates three manifestations of the life of Jesus as Epiphanies:
- Epiphany before the Magi from the East (manifestation to the pagans)
- Epiphany of the Baptism of the Lord (manifestation to the Jews)
- Epiphany of the wedding of Cana (manifestation to his disciples)
The feast of the Epiphany is one of the oldest of the Christians, most likely the second after the Holy Easter (Easter). It began in the East and then passed to the West around the fourth century.
At first Christians supposedly commemorated the three Epiphanies on the same date. In some oriental churches they even gave this party a celebratory character of the birth of Christ, but this sense fell when the Roman festivity of Christmas by the 4th century.
In the middle Ages the Epiphany became known more as the feast of the Magi. Currently the Catholic Church celebrates the three Epiphanies at different times of the liturgical calendar.
According to studies, the Epiphany was set for January 6 because on this day the birth of Aion was commemorated _god of Greek mythology adopted by the Romans and patron of the metropolis of Alexandria_, who was apparently related to the sun god. Also, because since ancient times on this same date the winter solstice in egypt.
The appearance of the Magi occurs exactly in the Gospel according to Matthew 2, 1-12where it is related that King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, was concerned by the appearance of wise men from the East who asked where the King of the Jews had been born.
After consulting the pontiffs and scribes about the place of birth, Herod told the magicians to inform him and notify him so that he too could worship him, although the true intention of this bloodthirsty monarch was to assassinate the Messiah.
“They entered the house and saw the child with Maria his mother. They knelt down and worshiped him. They opened his treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned to their country by another way”, it says in the Gospel.
Arrival date
Saint Eusebius of Caesarea and Saint Jerome in the 4th century, as well as Saint Epiphanius in the 6th century, point out that The Magi arrived to see the baby Jesus before he was two years old.
However, Saint Augustine (4th-5th centuries), in his Epiphany sermons, maintains that they arrived on the 13th day after the birth of the Lord. That is, on January 6.
Saint Matthew, the only one who speaks of the magi in the Bible, explains that they were from the “East”, an area that for the Jews were the territories of Arabia, Persia or Chaldea. On the other hand, the Orientals called the doctors “magicians”.
“Magician” in the Persian language meant “priest”, and precisely the magicians (“magoi” in Greek) were a caste of Persian or Babylonian priests. They did not know divine revelation like the Jews, but they studied the stars in their desire to seek God..
Tradition called the Magi “kings” in reference to the Psalm 72 (10-11), which proclaims: “The kings of the west and of the islands will pay him tribute. The kings of Arabia and Ethiopia will offer him gifts. Before him all kings will bow down and all nations will serve him.”.
The names of the magicians _whose exact number is unknown, although traditionally it is said that there were three_ they do not appear in the Holy Scriptures, but tradition has assigned some to them.
In a Paris manuscript from the end of the 7th century they are called Bitisarea, Melchor and Gataspa, but in the 9th century it began to be propagated that they were Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar.
This date is celebrated in different ways around the world.. In some parts, children write letters to the Magi, while in other places it is used to give gifts. In addition, it is also used for dinner or sharing the Rosca de Reyes, (circular bread with fruits or nuts). (F)
Source: Eluniverso
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