Some people get into a terrible flap after the Epiphany, and six years out of seven they write to us to say that we have got the readings wrong. So this post really ought to appear every year.

In religious parts of the world the Epiphany is celebrated when it always has been: on the 6th of January, when good children get presents from the Kings. In more commercial parts of the world the Epiphany is moved to the Sunday after New Year’s Day, so that the Twelve Days of Christmas become the Eight Days or the Fourteen Days.

The reason for all the panic is that a day such as Saturday 8 January 2022 has different readings depending on where you are. In religious countries (including England and Wales) it is 8 January, the second day after the Epiphany. In commercial countries (including Scotland and the USA) it is Saturday after Epiphany Sunday, the sixth day after the Epiphany.

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The Birthday of St John the Baptist is celebrated on 24 June each year. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated a fixed time after Easter, and in 2022 (and 2033 and 2044) this puts it on 24 June as well.

The standard rules for coinciding feasts would keep the Sacred Heart on the 24th, as being the more important celebration, and move the Baptist back to Saturday the 25th.

However, there is a certain discomfort in having major celebrations on Saturdays, and so the Congregation of Divine Worship has decided to bring the Birthday of St John the Baptist forward to Thursday 23 June 2022. You can find the official document here.

(The one exception is in places of which St John the Baptist is the patron: in that case he remains on the 24th and the Sacred Heart is brought forward to the 23rd).