The Christian community celebrates the Epiphany this Sunday, January 5, 2025. This religious celebration corresponds to the baptism of Jesus and the arrival of the three wise men.
In the Catholic translation, the epiphany corresponds to the visit of the wise men, but not only. It commemorates, on the same day, three events: the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan thirty years later and the Wedding at Cana thirty-one years later. But the wise men get all the attention and it’s the day when we share a king cake.
According to the Diocese of La Réunion, the epiphany is celebrated this Sunday, January 5: “It is a Christian holiday which comes from the East, the date of which is fixed on January 6 (a public holiday in countries where there are many Orthodox people, for example). In the Western Latin Church, its celebration has been fixed on the Sunday closest to the 6th (so the 5th this year) to allow the greatest number of faithful to commemorate it.
Epiphany, the word of which means “manifestation,” marks the revelation of Jesus Christ to the nations through the visit of the Magi who came from the East to adore the Child Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew (2:11), we read that the wise men “opened their coffers and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh”. These gifts symbolize the kingship, divinity and humanity of Christ through his redemptive suffering. “
