The cycle of Christmas is not yet closed. The liturgy of the sixth of January is a new climax. It is a feast which in ancient times was celebrated even more splendidly than Christmas. Even at the present day it has the place in the eastern Church which Christmas has for us. It celebrates a magnificent concept, that of the epiphany or manifestation of the Lord.

For this, three events of the history of salvation are taken together: the homage of the wise men from the East, the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan and the marriage feast of Cana - three initial manifestations of his glory.

For the epistle one of the most jubilant texts of the book of Isaiah was chosen, 60:1-6, "Arise, shine, Jerusalem". The LORD is to make his brightness shine forth in Jerusalem, so that the heathen nations are drawn to it. Through Jesus, the salvation of God did in fact appear in Jerusalem and Palestine.

The gospel takes the first of the three saving events. It is a story which Matthew places at the beginning of his gospel, Jesus' first manifestation to non-Jews, which is an indication that the world outside Israel is also affected by Jesus' coming. By means of a sign among the stars and a Jewish prophecy, some "wise men" from the East (perhaps Persia or Babylon or Arabia) discover the child with his mother Mary and offer him royal homage. Since the time of the catacombs, paintings of the scene have been one of the favourite ways of depicting Jesus' manifestation to the whole world. In some countries, like Holland and Germany, it is called the feast of the three kings 

The story of the wise men has an aftermath in the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem and the flight into Egypt. The death of these children who unknowingly gave their blood for Jesus is celebrated close to Christmas, 28 December, which is called the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  The significance of the flight into Egypt is that Jesus, on his return, followed in the footsteps of the people which had come up from Egypt long ago. Matthew calls attention to it by saying, "This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt have I called my son'" (Mt 2:15. Jesus is the Son, much more than the people was. In him, the people will return from the house of bondage, to be slaves no more.

A New Catechism compiled by The Higher Catechetical Institute, Nijmegan  trans Kevin Smyth.