My #Christmas lights are still up. This time of year I always feel a little self-conscious because I'm the only one in the neighborhood with lights still shining at night. That's the case now and it kind of stands out. The obvious question, "Why are your Christmas lights still up?

My wife pointed out to me years ago that, traditionally, Christmas lights are left up until Epiphany. A couple of fun facts:

Many folks likely know the word "epiphany" in a way such as, "I was stuck trying to come up with a solution to my problem, but then I had an epiphany and 'Voila!' I figured it out!" In this case, the solution was revealed to you. But religiously, Epiphany refers to events in the life of Jesus that were revealing. Particularly, it is the revealing of Jesus as God's son, the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament of the Bible. It gets a little muddled from there because there are different events in Christ's life that are "celebrated" with Epiphany: Jesus's circumcision (showing he was a human under God's law), the visit by three wise men (where non-Jews acknowledged him), Jesus's baptism in the Jordan river (where each part of the Trinity were present), or the wedding at Cana (where Jesus performed his first miracle to kick off his ministry). In each of these instances, the revealing epiphany or realization is the message: Jesus is God in human form.

Most people have heard of the Twelve Days of Christmas and the song (which I find kind of annoying and a bit weird). But, the twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days from Christmas day to Epiphany (January 6). Count them out: Dec. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, Jan. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That's twelve. January 6 gets its own special denomination as Epiphany day. So, technically, we're still in the Christmas season. Keep eating those cookies!

Epiphany doesn't seem to get a whole lot of recognition, maybe that's why no other lights are up around the neighborhood. But, I do know that it's a big thing with the Greek Orthodox church. For instance, I know there is a big celebration in Tarpon Springs, Florida that's really neat in a lot of ways. There, on January 6, the entire town essentially shuts down. The Greek community (Tarpon Springs has deep Greek roots...Greek people migrated to the town to dive in the waters for natural sponges) has religious services, then a festival on Jan. 6. The highlight of the festival is when young men (teenage guys), "dive" into the water in the local bayou. A priest tosses a cross into the water, the young men race to retrieve it, and the boy who fetches it is supposed to be blessed. The other boys hoist him on their shoulders and they parade through town. Then the food and music begins. (The food is amazing.) It's really a neat tradition.

So, my lights are still up and then they'll come down tomorrow. 😀