Complete Guide to 12th Night & Epiphany!
When & What is Epiphany?
The 12 Days of Christmas, which begin on Christmas Day, end on 12th Night, the eve of Epiphany. Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. The celebration principally commemorates the visit of the Magi to Baby Jesus, which is Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. (Eastern Christians also commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his revelation to the world as the Son of God, as well as the Miracle at Cana of water to wine.)
Interesting fact: In ancient times, before common people had calendars of their own, the date of Easter for that year would be announced on Epiphany.
Epiphany Around the World
How Epiphany is celebrated varies widely by country. In South and Central America Dia de los Reyes (Day of the Kings) is celebrated. Children receive the bulk of their holiday gifts on King’s day, when the Wise Men at last arrive at the family nativity (they had been moving slowly closer throughout the season). Dreikönigstag in Germany is celebrated by children traveling door-to-door singing for coins. In Ireland today is Women’s Christmas, a day when women relax with their friends while husbands, sons and brothers do the work of the house. What a fine way to celebrate the work women have done making this season special!
Travel east and the celebration revolves around Christ’s baptism and early ministry. In Bulgaria and Macedonia, for example, young men race to retrieve a wooden cross that has been thrown into the sea.
Why do traditions vary so widely? In part because according to some traditions, the three Magi traveled from different parts of the ancient world, fulfilling prophecies that kings from all lands would bow before God-incarnate, Jesus. Discover a bit more about that tradition in the menu below, and check back soon for a special announcement. (Hint: it’s my NEW BOOK from Paraclete Press, One Star, Three Kings: The Journey to Epiphany, coming, hopefully, in 2025!)
How to Host a 12th Night or Epiphany Party
It’s time for fun!
See page 183 in The Joy of Advent: Family Celebrations for Advent & the Twelve Days of Christmas for more about Epiphany.
The season of Christmastide ends in most Western liturgical traditions with the start of Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany is a celebration of Christ’s revelation to the Gentiles with the visit of the Magi, and his baptism and first miracle. 12th Night, the night before Epiphany, has traditionally been a night of revelry, feasting, and good-natured pranks. Share the holiday by hosting a party, and include a White Elephant Gift Exchange!
Party Planning Made Easy
Set a Date and Send Invitations: Use the invitations below or create your own. It’s best to send invitations toward the beginning of Christmastide. Schedule on 12th Night, Epiphany, or another nearby date.
White Elephant Gift Exchange: A White Elephant Gift Exchange can commemorate the gifts of the Magi while keeping with the sense of celebration. For full instructions, see page 185 in The Joy of Advent or search online.
Tips and Suggestions:
Make your party a pot-luck and use an online sign-up service to gather RSVPs
Select a price range or theme for White Elephant Gifts (i.e., useful gifts, nothing over $10, re-gifts, books, artwork, etc.)
Encourage deceptive wrapping to keep guests guessing!
Keep several wrapped gifts on hand in case a few guests forget to bring one.
Party Invitations
To simplify your celebration, we’ve created invitations so you don’t have to. Print, cut out, send, enjoy!
Organize a White Elephant Gift Exchange
Conflict-free Instructions: We’ve shared laughs at countless White Elephant Gift Exchanges over the years. Every time, however, several early gift-openers end up with gag gifts and are left to watch as the highly valued gifts are eagerly traded. It’s all in fun, but to keep disappointment low (and keep children engaged and happy), we adapted the traditional rules to include more mystery and guesswork.
Instruct families to bring one wrapped gift for every member of the family older than about age 4 or 5. The gifts may be silly, funny, a re-gift, or something genuinely nice (but inexpensive). The gifts should be unlabeled except for children’s gifts (labeled simply as “child,” or alternately, “boy,” “girl,” or “neutral”). Place all presents for adults together at the beginning of the evening, setting children’s gifts in a separate pile.
Assign each guest a number or go around the room beginning with the nearest birthday. Instruct guest #1 to choose a gift, but keep it wrapped. #2 may now take #1’s package or choose one from the pile.
Continue, allowing each guest the option of choosing a wrapped package from the pile or taking someone else’s. Some packages may shift hands often! Children should draw gifts from the children’s pile and are exempt from gift-stealing.
Now for the gift opening! Open in numerical order—was anyone tricked by the size or wrapping of the package?
Traditional Instructions: If all attendees are teens or adults, or your group has a competitive streak, follow the traditional instructions for game play.
Assign each attendee a number, beginning with 1. #1 selects a gift from the pile AND OPENS IT NOW.
#2 may choose the already opened gift, or a wrapped gift. If #2 chooses a wrapped gift, #2 opens the gift and play continues. If #2 chooses #1’s gift, #1 choses a new wrapped gift and opens it.
#3 may choose any opened gift or a wrapped gift. #3 likewise opens a wrapped gift, or the individual whose gift was “stolen” chooses and opens a new wrapped gift.
Continue until all attendees have a gift. Many give #1 a final chance to choose to swap gifts with anyone in the room.
Simplify with a Theme
Many hosts suggest a price limit per gift of $5, $10, or $25. But gifts can be simplified even more with a theme.
Build-Your-Library theme: Attendees bring any book that has been read and enjoyed. Used books are okay! Alternately, have each attendee choose a book of a certain genre: Christmas, children’s, devotional, etc.
Ladies Night Out theme: Request gifts of personal care items like scrubs, lotions, cosmetics, fluffy socks or other fun and feminine items.
Treats to Eat theme: This theme speaks for itself—food! Savory, sweet, spicy or anything in between.
Holiday Decorations theme: Be as specific as you like. Angels? Nativities? Give attendees an opportunity to add to their holiday home decor for next year.
Goofy Gadgets theme: As the name implies, here’s the time to pick up that odd not-sure-why-it-exists gadget, toy, or paperweight.
Especially for Kids theme: Suggest functional, clean, gently used toys as an opportunity for parents to declutter and avoid even more holiday spending.
The options are endless—Grandma’s jewels, culinary tools, technology, things for the home, or whatever you can dream up! Guests may appreciate some guidance on their gift selections, and will enjoy knowing, at least in a general sense, what they’re going to unwrap.
A Full Menu for Epiphany
Go for Appetizers
You could try a full Coptic Christian Epiphany menu, but we’ve found that the easiest menu to assemble is the appetizer buffet! Ask guests to bring any appetizer to share, savory, fresh, cold, or hot, and enjoy small plates with a bit of everything. Of course, you’ll want to have a few appetizers on hand as well, so find some crowd-pleasers below.
Share a traditional King’s Cake — don’t forget to add a large bean or tiny (unbreakable) Baby Jesus!
Commemorate the Star of Bethlehem with these clever and cute (and delicious) Epiphany Star Bites. As a simple and fresh alternative, slice starfruit and serve on toothpicks.
Our buffet is incomplete without a charcuterie tray. Add a specialty from one of the Magi’s countries of origin: fig preserves (affiliate link) from Melchior’s Persia. Duba Wat, a traditional Ethiopian stew, served in tiny bowls, might be an appropriate representation of Balthasar’s gift of Myrrh Oil to the young King. And Masala Papad will commemorate both Caspar’s gift of fragrant frankincense and his homeland of India.
Make a King Cake
Any celebration absolutely needs a King’s Cake! The name of this cake varies by location. In much of Central and South America the Rosca de los Reyes (Cake of the Kings) features fruits and nuts with an icing crown while in Spain the cake is sometimes filled with jelly or even chocolate (yes, please!). The German version is called Dreikönigskuchen and is topped with a crown. Pictured here is the French Galette des Roi.
Common to many King Cakes is the hiding of some small something inside, whether a dried bean or a tiny figurine of Baby Jesus. The reward for finding this special surprise might be a prize, gift, or title of King or Queen of the party.
Try this traditional, show-stopping King’s Cake. Or find several stunning French Galette options here.
Or keep things simple with a super-simple cheater King’s Cake (this is the one I’ll pick! Plus, this is one of my favorite websites for liturgical printables). Or a slightly more complicated version from the same site.
Affiliate links (we receive a small portion of the price with no added cost to you — thank you for supporting Joy of Advent!)