Feast of the Epiphany marks the end of Christmas

Today is the Epiphany, more popularly known as the Feast of the Three Kings. Traditionally, it was celebrated on January 6. Then on May 9, 1969, Pope Paul VI revised the liturgical calendar and one of the changes was that the Epiphany became a movable feast commemorated on the first Sunday of January that does not fall during the New Year. So the concept of 12 days of

Christmas is over. Christmastide can be from 9 to 14 days if the Epiphany falls on January 8, the second Sunday of January. The eve of the Feast of the Epiphany was known as the Twelfth Night, which was celebrated with a child being assigned to play king during the Bean-King festival, a former pagan festival derived from the Saturnalia of ancient Roman times. In the old Julian calendar that our present Gregorian calendar replaced, the Twelfth Day was Christmas Day.

To this day, we cannot comprehend why Pope Paul VI decided to make the Epiphany a movable feast. Now it is commemorated any day from January 1st to the 8th. People no longer remember but prior to the coming of the Americans, aguinaldos or Christmas gifts were given or exchanged not on December 25th, but on the Epiphany, more popularly known as the Feast of the Three Kings. This was more in keeping with the Bible because it commemorated the gifts that the Child Jesus got from the Magi or Wise Men from the East. The Bible does not mention how many wise men there were. But it was assumed that they were three because there were three gifts. They probably paid their homage to the Infant Jesus 40 days after his birth, which was the Purification. Later, they were said to be kings and were even provided with names – Gaspar, Melchor and Balthazar. One institution that has consistently kept the old Three Kings tradition is the Casino Español. Every Three Kings Day, three Casino Español members ride on horseback around Manila to distribute aguinaldos to the children.

The rest of the country open their gifts on Christmas Day and, as far as the children are concerned, they were brought by Santa Claus. In short, Santa Claus has overshadowed the Nativity itself. In the Phi-lippines, the saving grace is the Misas de Aguinaldo, popularly known as simbang gabi and the Misa de Gallo, the Midnight Mass that starts Christmas Day.

The Vatican’s decision to make the Epiphany a movable feast is another blow to the old Christmas tradition. It can no longer be referred to as the

Twelfth Night. Shakespeare’s play of that name was so-called because it was written for acting on the Twelfth Night revelry.

And so today, we celebrate the end of Christmastide on the ninth day after Christmas and it is not a special holyday, it just happens to coincide with the first Sunday of January that does not fall on a New Year. It is sad to see your children and grandchildren adopting a totally different tradition. It is a sign that the Three Kings have surrendered to Santa Claus. First, Santa Claus replaced the Nativity, now he has even abolished the Twelfth Night.