Epiphany season

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The Epiphany season is a liturgical period following the Christmas season. It begins on the day of Epiphany, and ends at various points depending on usage.

Church of England

The Church of England has observed an Epiphany season since the adoption of the Common Worship calendar and liturgies in 2000. The Epiphany season begins at Evening Prayer on the Eve of the Epiphany (which may be celebrated on 6 January or the Sunday between 2 and 8 January) and ends at Evening Prayer (or Night Prayer) on the Feast of the Presentation (which may be celebrated on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February). The Epiphany season is seen as a continuation of the Christmas season, and together they last forty days. The three events focused on during the Epiphany season are the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, Jesus's miracle at the marriage at Cana. The visit of the Magi is traditionally interpreted as symbolic of God's revelation of himself to the Gentiles, and so one of the themes of the season is mission. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity also falls within the season, allowing another seasonal theme to be that of unity. The season culminates at the Feast of the Presentation, after which the liturgy stops looking back to Christmas and begins looking forward to the Passion. The colour for the season is white.

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church does not have an Epiphany season as such, but continues to celebrate the Christmas season until the end of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (the Sunday or Monday after the Epiphany). The period between the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday is Ordinary Time, but the liturgy continues to look back towards Christmas for several weeks.

Until 1955 the feast of the Epiphany had an octave, and was therefore celebrated from the vigil mass on 5 January until 13 January.

Revised Common Lectionary

In some adaptations of the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Protestant denominations, the Epiphany season begins on January 6, and continues until the day before Ash Wednesday (which begins Lent). The last Sunday of Epiphany is Transfiguration Sunday.