On 19 January the Coptic Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany. It is one of the major feasts in Church, since it marks the revelation of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all in one instance: that of the baptism of Jesus at the hands of John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The Bible says in Matthew 3 that, as Jesus came out of the water “heaven was opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’.”
In Egypt, the feast of the Epiphany carries a lot of folk traditions that include processions of village children carrying lit candles and marching through the cold night to the banks of the Nile or its canals where everyone would have a dip in the icy cold water. The tradition has been dying out in our modern times, however. But other traditions still go strong, that of munching and sucking sugar cane, and of eating colocasia cooked in a green soup of chicken or duck broth with greens added to it. Both sugar cane and colocasia are then in season.
Watani wishes its readers a blessed, joyful feast day.
Watani International
19 January 2021