We observe the Day of Epiphany on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas. But our Christian season of Epiphany extends five weeks, till Feb. 7, just before Lent. So if you’re just returning or reenergizing after Christmas and New Year’s breaks, you’ve still got plenty of time to plan and celebrate this important occasion that honors the star-guided visit of the three Wise Men (Magi) and the revelation of Christ to the world.

Gather church members and friends with telescopes, and spend hours finding and gazing at the brightest stars in your sky. Invite guests to dinner at your church or home and ask them to help internationalize the affair by bringing and sharing foods, art and literature or wearing apparel and accessories from other countries. Enjoy scriptures, songs, stories or poems about the Magi, their journey and their precious gifts for the Christ child. Then talk about what gifts you and your guests will share with or on behalf of Christ this year.

Magi Welcoming Teams, King Cake bake sales, Chalking the Door blessings, Star Singers—UM Communications writer Jeremy Steele offers these and other exciting ideas for celebrating Epiphany in special ways with your church and community. Learn more…

Want to learn more about Epiphany, its origins, meanings and mysteries yet unsolved? Read “Lessons of Epiphany“ by Yvette Moore, Communications Director for United Methodist Women.

By John W. Coleman