TO PIOUS Christians, the 12 days of Christmas are not over yet. The season is supposed to end on the 12th day — in Catholic calendar known as “feast of the Three Kings” – counting from Dec. 25. The 12th day falls on Jan. 6.
The song We Three Kings of Orient Are was written by the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, John Henry Hopkins Jr., in 1857.
On the other hand, whoever wrote the lyrics of the song Twelve Days of Christmas might have counted 12 days also, but backward from the date Dec. 25. That number minus 12 equals 13, resulting in Dec. 13 as the first day of Christmas. The song makes no allusion to the “three kings.”
Just as the accuracy of the Dec. 25 celebration of Christmas is questionable, so, too, is the observance of the Three Kings day.
In the Catholic Church liturgy, the event is also known as the Feast of Epiphany – the day when the magi or “three kings” Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar, allegedly guided by a bright star, paid a visit to the new-born child Jesus in Bethlehem and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Strange as it seems, there is no verse in the Bible that names the three “wise men” as Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar. In fact, the Bible does not describe them as “kings” but as “magi”.
Magi is plural of magus, defined by Mr. Webster as “a caste of priests, philosophers, and magicians among the ancient Persians.”
The presumption that there were three wise men arose from the fact that the Bible mentions three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. However, the Bible doesn’t say how many wise men made the journey to see the baby Jesus.
Only an apocryphal legend has handed down the notion that Balthazar was king of Arabia, Gaspar of India, and Melchor of Persia.
What is written in the Bible, however, hardly supports their image as “kings”. Take note that in the second chapter of Matthew, they were following a “bright star” that would guide them to the location of the new-born “king of the Jews,” baby Jesus.
King Herod of Israel met with them to order them to “search” for Jesus. Unknown to them until God warned them in a dream, Herod’s plan was to destroy the child, fearing that in time Jesus would take over his throne.
After Herod realized they had evaded him, he ordered the death of every child below the age of two in Bethlehem.
Contrary to traditional dramatizations, they did not arrive at the manger on the night of Christ’s birth. Rather, they found the young Jesus and His parents living in a house – no longer in a manger. This could have been nearly two years after Christ’s birth, since Herod – fearful of a threat to his position as king — tried to have Jesus eliminated by killing all male children under the age of two.
To reiterate, it was the “bright star of Bethlehem” that guided the magi to Bethlehem and hovered over the location of Jesus. That was the miracle that emboldened them to renege on their commitment to Herod.
Thus, that the presumed star was probably a supernatural manifestation visible to nobody but the three.
Hence, with their change of heart, the magi succeeded in seeing the child Jesus with no more evil motive. They never returned to Herod with “mission accomplished.”
Had their mission been accomplished, scratch your head, Christianity would not have germinated. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
