When is Epiphany?
In 2026, Epiphany falls on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. It is classified here as a Romanian public holiday.
History of Epiphany
Boboteaza, Romania’s name for Epiphany, commemorates the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. In Orthodox practice it is one of the great feasts of the winter cycle, centred on holy water, blessing and the renewal suggested by water itself.
January 6 became a nationwide non-working public holiday through a 2023 amendment to Article 139 of the Labour Code. Its legal status is new, but the feast is not: churches and households have long marked it through liturgy, blessed water and local customs that move from the parish into family life.
Epiphany is known in Romanian as Boboteaza or Botezul Domnului. A distinctive part of worship is the Great Blessing of Waters, after which faithful may take agheasmă mare home for reverent use. In some towns and waterside communities, clergy bless a river or the sea and a cross may be cast into the water for swimmers to retrieve, although this is a local public custom rather than a requirement of the feast. Law no. 52/2023 inserted January 6 into Article 139; because the amendment took effect after the 2023 date had passed, 2024 was the first calendar year in which workers experienced it as the new nationwide day off.
How Epiphany is observed
A nationwide non-working public holiday on January 6. Orthodox churches hold Epiphany services and water blessings; public offices close. Romania has no general rule moving this holiday to Monday when it falls at a weekend; any public-sector bridge day requires a separate government decision and recovered working time.
Traditions of Epiphany
Blessing of water
Priests bless water during Epiphany services, and many people take holy water home. Romanian Boboteaza practice centres on blessed water, parish processions and household visits rather than a secular midwinter festival.
Church worship
Parishes hold liturgies focused on the Baptism of Christ and the Jordan River. Romanian Boboteaza practice centres on blessed water, parish processions and household visits rather than a secular midwinter festival.
Winter visits
Families exchange greetings and continue the early-January cycle of religious and household celebrations. Romanian Boboteaza practice centres on blessed water, parish processions and household visits rather than a secular midwinter festival.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Romanian labour law and government guidance. Employer, school and local-service schedules can differ from the statutory public-holiday calendar.
History sources: Romanian Labour Inspectorate: Labour Code, Article 139, Romanian Legislative Portal: Labour Code, Romanian Patriarchate calendar of non-working holidays.
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