2026-01-06: Three Kings Day or Day of Epiphany

The Winter Season: From Epiphany to Easter

Today is January 6th, also known as The Day of Epiphany or Three Kings Day. January 5th is officially the 12th and last day of Christmas, so Epiphany Day is when many take their Christmas decorations down. Epiphany Day is also known as the day the three kings, or the Three Wise Men, arrive in Bethlehem to announce the Christ child to the world as Jesus and to present him with their gifts. The Three Kings are: Melchior, from Persia; Gaspar, from India/Arabia; and Balthazar, from Africa.

In many traditions, children leave their shoes out overnight on January 5th for the Three Kings to fill. Three Kings Day is the day children unwrap their gifts. Some traditions include dressing up as the Three Kings and going caroling. Most traditions include some sort of King’s Cake to be eaten on Three Kings Day. This cake is a ring-shaped cake with something small baked inside, usually a small trinket, a bean, or a tiny baby to represent the baby Jesus. Ancient Rome started the tradition of hiding a trinket in food, and the finder of the trinket was made king or queen for the day and brought luck and joy during the solstice.

Today, this tradition is still carried out in the US, Spain, England, Wales, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and more. Additionally, in Spain, the finder must pay for the cake. In France, they have to provide champagne to everyone at the table and host the next king cake gathering in their home. In Mexico, the finder must make the tamales for Dia de la Candelaria on February 2nd. And in Poland, they receive luck for the coming year. In Louisiana, Three Kings Day begins the Carnival season and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

Three Kings Day marks the end of the winter/Christmas season and is the beginning of Carnival season. The traditions and timeline are as follows:

• Advent Season (four Sundays before Christmas)
• St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6)
• St. Lucia Day (Dec 13)
• Las Posadas (Dec 16–24)
• Winter Solstice (Dec 21 or 22)
• Christmas Eve (Dec 24)
• Christmas (Dec 25)
• Twelve Days of Christmas (Dec 25–Jan 5)
• Boxing Day (Dec 26)
• New Year’s Eve (Dec 31)
• New Year’s Day (Jan 1)
• Epiphany/Three Kings’ Day (Jan 6) ← King Cake season BEGINS
• Candlemas (Feb 2)
• Carnival/Mardi Gras season (all the weeks in between)
• Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday ← King Cake season ENDS
• Ash Wednesday ← Lent begins (40 days before Easter)
• Holy Week (Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday)
• Easter (The first Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or after the March or spring equinox)

During the Carnival/Mardi Gras season, there are parades, costume balls, and many chances to eat King Cake. This time frame embodies a period of celebration and indulgence before the start of Lent fasting, which begins on Ash Wednesday. These 40 days of fasting represent the 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness and offer a time for prayer and reflection. Traditionally, Christians give up something (chocolate, coffee, alcohol), use the time to quit a bad habit, or take on an extra prayer or charity during these 40 days. The end of Lent signifies the beginning of Holy Week, which ends with the spring equinox and Easter. Both the spring equinox and Easter are symbols of rebirth and renewal after the long, cold, dark winter.