Post by Bonobo on Jan 11, 2011 19:51:37 GMT 1
Epiphany returns as public holiday in Poland
06.01.2011 07:22
Today marks the Feast of Epiphany, one of the oldest and most important celebrations in the Roman Catholic Church, which is now a public holiday once again in Poland.
The day commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem to pay tribute to Jesus, twelve days after his birth.
In Warsaw an Epiphany procession begins at noon at Castle Square, the entrance to the Old Town, with the Angelus said by Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz, the Metropolitan of Warsaw.
The cardinal will then lead the procession along the 1.5 kilometre section of the Royal Route to a nativity crib in the Pilsudski Square, with live animals including camels. The children in the retinue of the Three Kings will be dressed in three colours, red symbolizing Europe, green for Asia and blue for Africa.
The Epiphany procession in Warsaw is held for the third year running. Similar processions are held in many Polish towns.
In a pastoral letter to mark the Feast, Polish bishops have thanked parliamentary deputies and all those who supported the idea to give The Three Kings’ Day “its rightful place in the social and religious life of Poles.”
The bishop will stress the theological significance of Epiphany, writing that the history of the Three Magi “symbolizes the path of every human being in quest of the light of faith.”
In their letter, Polish bishops say that the day is a time on focusing on the universal and missionary character of the Church. In Poland, Epiphany is a day of prayer for Polish missionaries and an opportunity to support the Church’s missionary work through donations.
Gifts
The term ‘epiphany’ means ‘to reveal’ and so in the Catholic tradition by bringing gifts to the Christ child, the Three Magi reveal Jesus to the world as Lord. In many countries, including Poland, the Feast of Epiphany is known as Three Kings’ Day.
This year, for the first time since 1960 in Poland, it is a national holiday after it was abolished by the communists.
This follows an Act of Parliament adopted in the autumn of last year, in the wake of a grass-roots campaign initiated by the former President of the City of Lodz, which resulted in over 700,000 signatures under a petition to re-introduce the Feast of Epiphany as a work-free day.
The holiday is observed as a holiday in Austria, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Lichtenstein, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Cyprus and some parts of Germany and Switzerland.
Epiphany is celebrated with a wide array of customs. Most Polish Catholics bring the blessed piece of chalk from the church and use it to inscribe the date – 2011 – and the letters C, B and M above the front door of the house.
These letters stand for the names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, and also abbreviate the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat - “May Christ bless the house”.
06.01.2011 07:22
Today marks the Feast of Epiphany, one of the oldest and most important celebrations in the Roman Catholic Church, which is now a public holiday once again in Poland.
The day commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem to pay tribute to Jesus, twelve days after his birth.
In Warsaw an Epiphany procession begins at noon at Castle Square, the entrance to the Old Town, with the Angelus said by Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz, the Metropolitan of Warsaw.
The cardinal will then lead the procession along the 1.5 kilometre section of the Royal Route to a nativity crib in the Pilsudski Square, with live animals including camels. The children in the retinue of the Three Kings will be dressed in three colours, red symbolizing Europe, green for Asia and blue for Africa.
The Epiphany procession in Warsaw is held for the third year running. Similar processions are held in many Polish towns.
In a pastoral letter to mark the Feast, Polish bishops have thanked parliamentary deputies and all those who supported the idea to give The Three Kings’ Day “its rightful place in the social and religious life of Poles.”
The bishop will stress the theological significance of Epiphany, writing that the history of the Three Magi “symbolizes the path of every human being in quest of the light of faith.”
In their letter, Polish bishops say that the day is a time on focusing on the universal and missionary character of the Church. In Poland, Epiphany is a day of prayer for Polish missionaries and an opportunity to support the Church’s missionary work through donations.
Gifts
The term ‘epiphany’ means ‘to reveal’ and so in the Catholic tradition by bringing gifts to the Christ child, the Three Magi reveal Jesus to the world as Lord. In many countries, including Poland, the Feast of Epiphany is known as Three Kings’ Day.
This year, for the first time since 1960 in Poland, it is a national holiday after it was abolished by the communists.
This follows an Act of Parliament adopted in the autumn of last year, in the wake of a grass-roots campaign initiated by the former President of the City of Lodz, which resulted in over 700,000 signatures under a petition to re-introduce the Feast of Epiphany as a work-free day.
The holiday is observed as a holiday in Austria, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Lichtenstein, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Cyprus and some parts of Germany and Switzerland.
Epiphany is celebrated with a wide array of customs. Most Polish Catholics bring the blessed piece of chalk from the church and use it to inscribe the date – 2011 – and the letters C, B and M above the front door of the house.
These letters stand for the names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, and also abbreviate the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat - “May Christ bless the house”.
