The Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) commemorates the visit of the Wise Men to Bethlehem.
The entire Epiphany season deals with the manifestations of Christ during His life on earth. The Old Testament lessons are passages foretelling Christ's coming and the blessings resulting therefrom; the gospels and lessons from the evangelists tell of John the Baptist's preaching concerning Christ, of Christ's boyhood visit to the temple, of His baptism, of His appearance at the synagogue at Nazareth and to the Samaritans, and other occasions on which He made known His divine powers.
Suitable hymns will be found in the section of the hymnal devoted to the season, but the careful choirmaster will select words that apply particularly to that phase of Christ's earthly life which is given prominence in the gospel and lessons. Missionary hymns are especially suitable during the Epiphany season.
The English and Canadian books direct that the collect, epistle and gospel for the Epiphany be used until the following Sunday: the American book provides for the reading of the collect throughout the octave which includes, of course, the First Sunday after Epiphany.
The number of Sundays after Epiphany varies from one to six, depending upon whether Easter falls early or late. The simplest was to find the length of the Epiphany season and the dates of all moveable feasts until Trinity Sunday is to consult the tables in the English and American books, A Table of Moveable Feasts According to the Several Days that Easter Can Possibly Fall Upon; in the Canadian book, A Table of Moveable Feasts for One Hundred Years. The calendar at the end of this chapter may also prove to be helpful.