Trend Watch

Epiphany

January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany

Epiphany, a feast day which celebrates the Magi's visit to the infant Jesus in the Western church traditions, and the baptism of Jesus in Eastern church traditions, is celebrated twelve days after Christmas in some Christian traditions.

Interest in the word peaks every year around January 6, the day when Epiphany is observed. Many people may come to the dictionary because they hear the word used to refer to a religious holiday, but they may be more familiar with the second meaning of "epiphany": a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way.

Epiphany comes from the Greek word that means "appearance" or "manifestation." The feast day marks the "manifestation" of Jesus to the world, and the second, more familiar epiphany is the sudden "appearance" or "manifestation" of something in a new, clear way.

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