Feast of the Three Kings

From the colorful figures of three men in oriental robes with crowns on their heads in nativity scenes – one of them is mostly dark-skinned – accompanied by camels and possibly exotic procession – there is a long way to go to their real predecessors. In the early Christian Western Church, the Feast of the Epiphany – also called Epiphany (from the Greek word “revelation”) originated in the 4th century, and has been celebrated in the East since the 3rd century. It was set for January 6 and was the culmination of the Christmas season. The celebration of Epiphany originally combined three mysteries – the Coming of the Wise Men (“The Adoration of the Magi”), the Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in Jordan, and a reminder of the miracle of turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee. Christ’s baptism is also commemorated by the sanctification of the Three Kings on the eve of the feast and the consecration of the homes. On the door of the dwellings the priest writes the year and the letters G + M + B – according to the tradition of the initials of the names of the three kings, in fact the abbreviated Latin inscription “Christus mansionem benedicat” (Christ bless this house ) . In the Western Church, the consecration of the Baptism of the Lord was later moved to the next Sunday after January 6, marking the end of the Christmas season. For Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, thanks to a 13-day shift in the Julian calendar, the Christmas holidays begin on January 6.