The Epiphany Gap

Editors note: Epiphany is the season in the Christian year that follows on immediately from Christmas (the Sunday of Christmas being the first Sunday of Epiphany).

As we enter the second week of Epiphany, I have to admit that, as a youngster, this is the church season which totally baffled me – why did it take the 3 wise men 12 days to find Jesus? – did they lose their way? (Yes I know the Bible doesn’t say there were 3 wise men, but I’m a traditionalist, and besides, “We Three Kings of Orient Are” is one of my favourite carols). Of course, I now realise that it was actually more like 2 years before the wise men found Jesus, which is actually nothing to do with the 12 days gap between Christmas and Epiphany. The real reason for the difference is an old favourite of all historians, the adoption by England in 1752 of the Gregorian calendar – Epiphany is Christmas in the churches of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and prior to 1752, when both western and eastern churches used the increasingly inaccurate Julian calendar, both churches celebrated Christmas on the same day. In 1752, England, some 170 years after most of Europe, then adopted the Gregorian calendar, which was, by then, 11 days out of time with the Julian calendar – since then, the years 1800 and 1900, both leap years in the Julian calendar, but not in the Gregorian, have increased the gap to 13 days – add this to 25 December and you will find why the Eastern Orthodox Church, which still refuses to abandon the Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas at 7th January.

Incidentally, being a boring accountant, I have to point out that this is also why the income tax year starts on the seemingly meaningless date of 6th April – prior to 1752, the end of the tax year was 25th March, the more memorable date of Lady Day, but the Revenue, as ever, refused to lose potentially 11 days of tax revenues, and stuck to the Julian calendar, until 1800, when a leap year on their calendar was not matched by an extra day elsewhere in the country, so they fixed the start of the tax year at the date it had then reached – 6th April. Who said accountancy was dull?

God bless you all

Keith Brown