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The holiday is celebrated 12 days after Christmas to mark when the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. CBS2's Kristie Keleshian reports.

The Scriptural recounting in the Gospel of Saint Matthew of the mysterious wise men who visited the baby Jesus bearing gifts is one of the most enduring and compelling scenes in Sacred Scripture. The rudimentary nature of St. Matthew’s description of the Magi’s arrival has encouraged a flowering of apocryphal literature across the centuries which has added depth and detail to the occasion of the Epiphany. There are numerous references to the Magi in early post-Scriptural literature. Saint Justin Martyr mentions them prominently in his debate with Trypho (Chapter 78) in the mid-second century AD. Magi were of the priestly...

We Three Kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. In ancient texts of Scripture the Wise Men are Magoi in Greek and Magi in Latin. The singular form, Magos/Magus, is the source of our English word “magician” but had multiple meanings in Biblical times....

reflecting on seasonal topics as observed in a southside Chicago neighborhood during WWII

Traditionalists are furious after it emerged that one of the “Three Wise Men” in the January 5th Epiphany parade would in fact be played by a drag queen. The January 5th Three Kings parades are a highlight of Spain's busy Christmas calendar and see the Three Wise Men, or Magi, parade through cities, towns and villages throughout the country distributing sweets to children. Once upon a time, the roles of “Los Reyes Magos” were played by local councillors, one of whom traditionally “blacked up” for the part of Balthazar. But in recent years, and since the arrival of a left-leaning...

TODAY marks the official end to the Christmas season as Christians across the world celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. The celebration falls on the 12th day of Christmas and marks the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. Pope Francis will today hold the annual Holy Mass for the Epiphany in St Peter's Basilica in Rome marking a celebration that was first observed by western Christians in the 4th century. The Epiphany also marks the visit of the three Wise Men to baby Jesus.

Msgr. Charles Pope OSV Newsweekly Star of the Magi Question: I was reading a Catholic commentary on Scripture by a priest who maintains that the star that guided the Magi was not a star at all but some sort of moving ball of gas in the atmosphere. Is this Catholic teaching? I have never heard this.— Brad C. , St. Louis Answer: You were probably reading the commentary by Father Cornelius á Lapide who speculates the star was not really a star but was formed of condensed air and dust, with brightness infused into it and moved by the angels...

A friend on Facebook wrote that she and her husband were taking a walk the night after Christmas Day. They passed a neighbor out in his yard and wished him a merry Christmas. The neighbor paused and said, “Oh, you mean for next year?” The husband “told him that no, the wish was for this year since Christmas lasts twelve days and we’re only on day two. He said, ‘Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.’” The day after Christmas my husband and I were walking in our neighborhood retail area. I thought we might get our children some Christmas treats...

An unusual folk celebration of the Three Kings will be held in Caguas this evening, as musicians sing a third of the traditional rosary sung to the Magi. Elsewhere the typical celebration of the Epiphany got under way Sunday as the Magi and island mayors distributed toys and candy to children in their homes. A rosary to the Three Kings will be sung at 7 p.m. tonight on the steps of the Dulce Nombre De Jesús Cathedral in Plaza Santiago R. Palmer in Caguas. Folklore expert Norma Salazar of the city’s Cultural Development Department will direct the event, in which...

(English-language translation) The sight of three sumptuously-dressed potentates giving the first Christmas gifts has been portrayed in innumerable ways: in classical paintings, in greeting cards, and even in some billboard on a public square. We know their names: Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar. Standing on one side of the stable, in the company of animals, shepherds, and a few angels fluttering around the beams. They sing John Henry Hopkins' immortal Christmas carol "We Three Kings of Orient Are", and each one describes the meaning behind the gift he carries. There is only one problem. The Bible never mentions only three kings...

Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior.  These "three kings of Orient are" found, complete with crowns and camels, in every nativity scene.Yet if you look closely at the gospel account of the Magi (Mat 2:1-12), you won't find these names.  Actually there is no mention of how many Magi there were or that they were kings riding camel-back.This is a testimony to something some Bible Christians would like to deny: that all who read a text of Scripture do so in the light of some tradition, through some lens.  If it is the right lens, it magnifies the text and allows us to...

The Universal King January 7, 2007 Up ‘til now, all has been quite humble.  A donkey ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem.  Hotel rooms all booked up.  Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal's feed trough instead of a cozy cradle.Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off land.  Dignitaries in sumptuous dress lavish the newborn with expensive gifts that seem out of place in the humble surroundings.                                                                    This event is so significant that it is accorded its own feast in the Roman liturgy, celebrated traditionally on...

In its December 27, 2005 online edition, "El Vocero" newspaper from Puerto Rico reports that the governor of that U. S. Commonwealth has signed a bill assigning an annual $75,000 grant to help finance the Kings' Day (Epiphany) Festival which has been held every year since 1884 in the southern coastal town of Juana Díaz. The monies will be specifically allocated to the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture which, in turn, will provide them to a local private organization responsible for holding the Festival. To those fellow FReepers who are a little rusty on their Biblical history, the Epiphany is...

US soldiers caught stashing Iraqi lootTHE GUARDIANFriday, Apr 25, 2003,Page 1 Four American soldiers have been arrested for trying to steal nearly US$1 million found hidden in former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's Baghdad palaces, it was reported Wednesday. Three are accused of taking US$600,000 in US$100 bills and hiding them in a tree, while the fourth allegedly took US$300,000 and stashed it in several places, including the glove compartment of his truck. Jonathan Foreman, a New York Post reporter with the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, in Baghdad, quoted Major Kent Rideout saying that the men would be court martialled....

<p>The Post's Jonathan Foreman holds $100,000 in each hand from a box that Army soldiers found in a Baghdad cottage. Four GIs from the 64th Armored face court-martials for allegedly stealing some of the loot.</p> <p>FOUR sticky-fingered GIs have been arrested for trying to steal nearly $1 million of the $700 million in cold cash found hidden on the grounds of several estates in Baghdad, Army officials said yesterday.</p>

<p>BAGHDAD — An Army Reserve unit from Riverdale Park, Md., last night discovered at least $4 million in crisp U.S. cash in a compound that had been home to Special Republican Guard officers.</p> <p>Soldiers opened one of four identical boxes last night and say there could be many more in sealed compartments in the L-shaped bunker. They say they suspect that chemical weapons are hidden there as well.</p>

This article is titled, " 'Kings': Iraq war primer?"