Three Kings’ Day: Catholics celebrate the feast of Epiphany with various traditions

Catholics around the world celebrate the Epiphany — the day in which the Magi greeted the Infant Jesus — with blessings, parades, and feasts. Read on to discover how you can celebrate the 12th day of Christmas with your family. 

Catholics can receive a special home blessing on or around Epiphany, which can be performed by an adult member of the household, a deacon, or a priest. Many parishes distribute blessed chalk and blessed Epiphany water.

The blessing uses chalk to inscribe the year, as well as the initials of the Wise Men, over the lintel of the front door. This year’s inscription will be 20 + C + M + B + 26.

The parish website for Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Grove City, Ohio, explains that the plus sign represents the cross and the letters have a twofold meaning.

“They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar,” the website reads. “They are also the first letters of the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, ‘May Christ bless the house.’” 

Besides the annual blessing, celebrations differ in various parts of the world. According to the AESU, Spanish-speaking countries often exchange gifts on Epiphany instead of Christmas, and children leave their shoes out to receive gifts from the Wise Men. They also put out grass and salt for the Magi’s camels to eat.

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Spanish-speaking countries also celebrate with the Three Kings’ bread, rosca de reyes, which contains a little figurine of the baby Jesus. Whoever finds baby Jesus has to host the party for Candlemas, celebrated on Feb. 2. Other countries also have a special bread or cake. Prague Daily reports that in Prague, there is a Three Kings’ Day parade where men ride through the city on camels. Others take a frigid plunge into the Vltava River to celebrate the feast.

As Epiphany marks the 12th day of Christmas, many Christians and Catholics take down their Christmas decorations this day. Others wait until Feb. 2 for Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

This article has been updated and originally appeared on CatholicVote on Jan. 2, 2025. 

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