Epiphany comes from a Greek verb meaning “to reveal” , “to show”.  The word epiphany means appearance or manifestation* .

The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the child Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as “King” and so were the first to “show” or “reveal” Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.

The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the oldest Christian feasts, though, throughout the centuries, it has celebrated a variety of things. The various events celebrated by the Feast of the Epiphany are revelations of Christ to man. Like many of the most ancient Christian feasts, Epiphany was first celebrated in the East, where it has been held from the beginning almost universally on January 6. Today, among both Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, the feast is known as Theophany—the revelation of God to man.

Epiphany originally celebrated four different events, in the following order of importance: The Baptism of Christ. Christ’s first miracle. The Nativity of Christ, and The visitation of the Three Wise Men or Magi. Each of these is a revelation of God to man: At Christ’s Baptism, the Holy Spirit descends and the voice of God the Father is heard, declaring that Jesus is His Son; The changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana, the miracle reveals Christ’s divinity; at the Nativity, the angels bear witness to Christ, and the shepherds, representing the people of Israel, bow down before Him; and at the visitation of the Magi, Christ’s divinity is revealed to the Gentiles—the other nations of the earth.

Eventually, the celebration of the Nativity was separated out, in the West, into Christmas; and shortly thereafter, Western Christians adopted the Eastern feast of the Epiphany, still celebrating the Baptism, the first miracle, and the visit from the Wise Men. Thus, Epiphany came to mark the end of Christmastide—known as the Twelve Days of Christmas, which began with the revelation of Christ to Israel at His Birth and ended with the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles at Epiphany.

The colors of Epiphany are usually the colors of Christmas, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and hope that mark the most sacred days of the church year.

The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of Jesus in reaching others by “showing” Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian values in the community and fellowship.

Have a great weekend!

Father’s Day is celebrated popularly on the 3rd Sunday in June in many parts of the world.  The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington.  A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.  Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her.  It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man.  Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.  President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.  So Father’s Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father.  Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

So here we have it.  What are your plans for Father’s Day?

Myself I see it with the kids coming home and we have a nice dinner together and we talk about some of the good times we have had.  I’m real close to my kids and I hope that never changes.  We have been noted to share some of the world’s most embarrassing moments and rub each other a little.  They do it to me the most.  I have to say it gets quite humorous around the house and I admire the fact that they remember so many things in our past…I feel in my family, my kids would never let this day go by without some kind of acknowledgment of it…

Prior to looking at rings the couples have communicated amongst themselves of the commitment of getting married.  A good number of times the gal shops and looks at styles that she may have seen in some sort of advertising, whether it is in a national bride book or on-line for instance.  Never the less this always follows the general rule of what meets her personality.  Some people tend to be more conservative than others and some are way more on the contemporary side.  Whatever style it all fulfills the process.  It definitely is part of the experience of making the commitment and creating the symbolism it is meant to be.  This is where it has been the tradition since the 13th century were precious metals and gemstones symbolizing the richness of love presenting this to the significant person.  So this is not just a nice thing to do, but has been carried down for hundreds of years and has become a big tradition.  Just to recognized why it is on the ring finger of the left hand, it was believed that there is a vein from your left hand finger to your hard.  So if you ever wonder what hand it is worn on, think of what side your heart is on.  Being that the “wedding ring” is the marital promise it is worn on the side “closest to your heart”…