Tuesday, January 6, 2026

It is the 6th of January 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

A very merry “Old Christmas” or “Little Christmas” or, more likely, Epiphany. Confused? Let me explain and tell the story of a famous hymn about today, which just happens to have been written on this day in 1858.

The 6th of January has long been the date to celebrate the coming of Jesus- his “appearance” to us in the flesh- this is where we get the word “Epiphany”- the Greek word is “epiphaneia” from “epi” or “to” and “phainein” or “show”.

By the late 300s, the feast of the Nativity came to be celebrated on the 25th of December, and so for many there would be two celebrations- and it’s convenient because there are (depending on how you count) 12 or 13 days between the two, which gives us the traditional 12 Days of Christmas. And so, today brackets off the Christmas season (this is your note to probably take the lights down today).

But also- remember the Gregorian Calendar reform I’m always prattling on about? If you’re on a calendar not reformed by a 16th-century Pope, then your December 25th will be our January 6th… it gets tricky… I know. So let me tell you a story about a hymn written for Epiphany, which just happens to have been written on this day.

The hymn is “As With Gladness Men of Old” written by William Chatterton Dix (D I X). The name “Chatterton” might be familiar, as William was named by his father after the famous poet Thomas Chatterton (the father, James, was a surgeon who had written a biography of the poet). The name Dix might also be familiar, as the famous tune to go with the hymn was named after William, who wrote the hymn.

[It goes: *hum the tune* and was adapted by William Henry Monk of Abide with Me fame- it is also used with the hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth”].

William Chatterton Dix, from Bristol, England, was not a clergyman but instead a pious businessman in the naval insurance trade based in Glasgow. IT was on this day, the feast of the Epiphany in 1858 (although some sources say 1859 or 1860), that Dix was laid up in bed ill. He read the appointed readings for today, which included Matthew 2- the visit of the Magi. Inspired by the story, Dix would write the hymn to tell their story of visiting Christ and making a parallel to our own “epiphany” or coming to see Christ.

A year or so after he wrote it, the hymn was included in a hymn book for his local church, and it was William Monk who took a German tune and adapted it slightly for Dix’s hymn. Although Dix did not love the tune himself, Monk named it after him.

The Magi are simply “Men of Old” and their gifts are not mentioned specifically- they are simply called “gifts most rare”. In the original, the “men of old” come to “that lowly manger bed,” but this would be altered to just a “lowly bed” as it is understood by the time the Magi came to Jesus, he had been moved out of the makeshift manger bed. The manager “rude and bare” would become “plain and bare” (because like pronunciations, word meanings change too!).

The hymn and tune would be brought together in the very influential “Hymns Ancient and Modern” in 1861, edited by Monk, and would become an Epiphany and Christmastide standard across denominations. The reading today will be from that 1861 text. Today we remember, perhaps the most famous Epiphany hymn, written by an insurance man, William Chatterton Dix, on Epiphany.

 

The Last word for today comes from As With Gladness Men of Old:

1 As with gladness men of old

Did the guiding star behold,

As with joy they hailed its light,

Leading onward, beaming bright;

So, most gracious Lord, may we

Evermore be led to thee.

 

2 As with joyful steps they sped,

Saviour, to thy manger bed,

There to bend the knee before

Thee whom heaven and earth adore;

So may we with willing feet

Ever seek the mercy-seat.

 

3 As they offered gifts most rare

At thy cradle rude and bare,

So may we with holy joy,

Pure and free from sin's alloy,

All our costliest treasures bring,

Christ, to thee our heavenly King.

 

4 Holy Jesus, every day

Keep us in the narrow way;

And, when earthly things are past,

Bring our ransomed souls at last

Where they need no star to guide,

Where no clouds thy glory hide.

 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of January, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man neither Rude nor bare… most of the time- he is  Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who just took down the Christmas lights and wonders if they wouldn’t be especially nice on a feast day like this one… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.