In the same passage in which he describes the Gnostic Christians’ search for a date, Clement discusses the views of a prominent Egyptian Gnostic group called the Basilideans, saying that they “hold the day of his [Jesus’] baptism as a festival, spending the night before as a festival,” and that some do this on the eleventh day of the Egyptian month Tubi. In the modern calendar, this date is January 6, the date of Epiphany for most contemporary Christians and the date of Christmas for some. More important, it would become the date of Christmas for many ancient Christians in the eastern
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