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122-649: The Magi appear solely in the Gospel of Matthew , which states that they came "from the east" (Greek ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν - apo anatolōn ) to worship the "one who has been born king of the Jews". Their names, origins, appearances, and exact number are unmentioned and derive from the inferences or traditions of later Christians. In Western Christianity , they are usually assumed to have been three in number, corresponding with each gift; in Eastern Christianity , especially

244-568: A Spaniard, or "white" person, in blackface . Because so many people have become increasingly offended by this, a campaign of protest to eliminate this practice began in Spain in 2009. In Spain and also in Latin America, children prepare a drink for each of the Magi on January 5. It is also traditional to prepare food and drink for the camels, because it is believed that this is the only night of

366-693: A box or their shoes with the cuttings for the Kings' camels. They then place the box or their shoes under their bed or beside the Christmas tree. On Epiphany morning the children will find the grass gone from their shoes or box and replaced with candy and other small, sweet treats. In Spain and most Latin American countries, which are predominantly Roman Catholic , the Christmas Season officially starts on December 25 and partially ends on January 7,

488-542: A conjurer and a charlatan. Already in the mid-5th century BC, Herodotus identifies the magi as interpreters of omens and dreams ( Histories 7.19, 7.37, 1.107, 1.108, 1.120, 1.128 ). Other Greek sources from before the Hellenistic period include the gentleman-soldier Xenophon , who had first-hand experience at the Persian Achaemenid court. In his early 4th century BC Cyropaedia , Xenophon depicts

610-421: A dream they are warned not to return to Herod, and therefore return to their homes by taking another route. Since its composition in the late 1st century, numerous apocryphal stories have embellished the gospel's account. Matthew 2:16 implies that Herod learned from the wise men that up to two years had passed since the birth, which is why all male children two years or younger were slaughtered . In addition to

732-516: A dream, about King Herod's plan to kill Jesus. And another story proposes the theory that the myrrh given to them at Jesus' birth was used to anoint Jesus' body after his crucifixion. There was a 15th-century golden case purportedly containing the Gift of the Magi housed in the Monastery of St. Paul of Mount Athos . It was donated to the monastery in the 15th century by Mara Branković , daughter of

854-573: A generalization of all modern-day Iranians. "By referring to the Iranians in these documents as majus , the security apparatus [implied] that the Iranians [were] not sincere Muslims, but rather covertly practice their pre-Islamic beliefs. Thus, in their eyes, Iraq's war took on the dimensions of not only a struggle for Arab nationalism, but also a campaign in the name of Islam." In India, the Sakaldwipiya Brahmins are considered to be

976-549: A house ( οἰκίαν , oikian ), not a stable. The New Revised Standard Version of Matthew 2:1 – 12 describes the visit of the Magi in this manner: In the time of King Herod , after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea , wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he

1098-487: A loanword from Old Persian * maguš "magician; magi". Mair reconstructs an Old Chinese * m ag . The reconstruction of Old Chinese forms is somewhat speculative. The velar final -g in Mair's * m ag (巫) is evident in several Old Chinese reconstructions (Dong Tonghe's * m wag , Zhou Fagao's * mjwaγ , and Li Fanggui 's * mjag ), but not all ( Bernhard Karlgren 's * m wo and Axel Schuessler's * ma ). Mair adduces

1220-462: A lost Greek manuscript probably composed in Alexandria roughly two centuries earlier. Another eighth century text, Collectanea et Flores , which was likewise a Latin translation from an original Greek account, continues the tradition of three kings and their names and gives additional details. One candidate for the origin of the name Caspar appears in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas , which gives

1342-443: A matter of understanding what the myth is trying to communicate, its lack of historicity is unsurprising given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than chronological timelines. The Byzantine Rite liturgy asserts 14,000 Holy Innocents, while an early Syrian list of saints asserts 64,000. Coptic sources assert 144,000 and that it took place on 29 December. Frederick George Holweck 's 1910 entry on

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1464-571: A meaning expanded to include astronomy , astrology , alchemy , and other forms of esoteric knowledge. This association was in turn the product of the Hellenistic fascination for Pseudo-Zoroaster , who was perceived by the Greeks to be the Chaldean founder of the Magi and inventor of both astrology and magic, a meaning that still survives in the modern-day words "magic" and " magician ". In

1586-492: A pagan symbol referring to Death. It has been suggested by scholars that the "gifts" were medicinal rather than precious material for tribute . The Syrian King Seleucus I Nicator is recorded to have offered gold, frankincense and myrrh (among other items) to Apollo in his temple at Didyma near Miletus in 288/7 BC, and this may have been the precedent for the mention of these three gifts in Gospel of Matthew ( 2:11 ). It

1708-402: A righteous judgment of God, that all might laugh at [their] gross ignorance." The names and origins of the Magi are never given in scripture, but have been provided by various traditions and legends. Among Western Christians , the earliest and most common names are: These names first appear in an eighth century religious chronicle, Excerpta Latina Barbari , which is a Latin translation of

1830-401: Is Peer-e Moghan (literally "the old man of the magi") and second one is Deyr-e Moghan (literally "the monastery of the magi"). The oldest surviving Greek reference to the magi – from Greek μάγος ( mágos , plural: magoi ) – might be from 6th century BC Heraclitus (apud Clemens Protrepticus 2.22.2 ), who curses the magi for their "impious" rites and rituals. A description of

1952-609: Is a missed opportunity to be truly inclusive of Afro-Germans in German-speaking communities and contribute to the equation of "blackness" with "foreignness" and "otherness" in German culture. Magi Magi ( PLUR ), or magus ( SING ), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions . The earliest known use of the word magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius

2074-693: Is given as sorcerer and sorcery when describing " Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13:6–11 , and Simon Magus , considered a heretic by the early Church, in Acts 8:9–13 . Several translations refer to the men outright as astrologers at Matthew Chapter 2 , including New English Bible (1961); Phillips New Testament in Modern English (J.B.Phillips, 1972); Twentieth Century New Testament (1904 revised edition); Amplified Bible (1958, New Testament); An American Translation (1935, Goodspeed); and The Living Bible (K. Taylor, 1962, New Testament). Although

2196-565: Is not intended to be a negative portrayal of a black person, but rather, a "realistic" or "traditional" portrayal of one. The dialogue surrounding the politics of traditions involving blackface is not as developed as in Spain or the Netherlands. In the past, photographs of German politicians together with children in blackface have caused a stir in English-language press. Moreover, Afro-Germans have written that this use of blackface

2318-456: Is the oldest of the three Magi. The Magi are described as "falling down", "kneeling", or "bowing" in the worship of Jesus. This gesture, together with Luke's birth narrative, had an important effect on Christian religious practices. They were indicative of great respect, and typically used when venerating a king. While prostration is now rarely practised in the West, it is still relatively common in

2440-536: Is the plural of Latin magus , borrowed from Greek μάγος ( magos ), as used in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew (in the plural: μάγοι , magoi ). The Greek magos itself is derived from Old Persian maguŝ, which in turn originated from the Avestan magâunô , referring to the Iranian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism . Within this tradition, priests paid particular attention to

2562-696: Is traditionally sung a cappella . The 17th century Dutch Christmas song O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen , while beginning with a reference to Christmas Night , is about the Massacre of the Innocents. In 1974, the Dutch progressive rock band Focus recorded the first two verses of the song for their album Hamburger Concerto . The theme of the "Massacre of the Innocents" has provided artists of many nationalities with opportunities to compose complicated depictions of massed bodies in violent action. It

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2684-625: The twelve days of Christmas ; on that date the Magi are also celebrated as saints. The Eastern Orthodox and Greek Orthodox celebrate the visit of the Magi on the same date as their Christmas, which is either 25 December, 6 January, or 7 January, depending on if they follow the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar . One story in Syriac Christianity in the era of the late Roman Empire and early post-Islamic conquest period,

2806-575: The Book of Exodus , as told in an expanded version that was current in the 1st century. In that expanded story, Pharaoh kills the Hebrew children after his scribes warn him of the impending birth of the threat to his crown (i.e., Moses ), but Moses' father and mother are warned in a dream that the child's life is in danger and act to save him. Later in life, after Moses has to flee, like Jesus, he returns when those who sought his death are themselves dead. As

2928-503: The Christian tradition ; they are venerated as saints or even martyrs in many Christian communities, and are the subject of numerous artworks, legends, and customs. Both secular and Christian observers have noted that the Magi popularly serve as a means of expressing various ideas, symbols, and themes. Most scholars regard the Magi as legendary rather than historical figures. Traditional nativity scenes depict three "wise men" visiting

3050-480: The Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew . The carol refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants two years old and under in Bethlehem to be killed. The lyrics of this haunting carol represent a mother's lament for her doomed child. The author is unknown. The oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534, and the melody dates from 1591. The carol

3172-539: The Gospel of Matthew , "μάγοι" ( magoi ) from the east do homage to the Christ Child , and the transliterated plural "magi" entered English from Latin in this context around 1200 CE (this particular use is also commonly rendered in English as "kings" and more often in recent times as "wise men"). The singular "magus" appears considerably later, when it was borrowed from Old French in the late 14th century with

3294-760: The King of Serbia Đurađ Branković , wife to the Ottoman Sultan Murat II and godmother to Mehmet II the Conqueror (of Constantinople ). After the Athens earthquake of September 7, 1999, they were temporarily displayed in Athens to strengthen faith and raise money for earthquake victims. The relics were displayed in Ukraine and Belarus in Christmas of 2014, and thus left Greece for the first time since

3416-578: The Old and New Testaments . Ordinarily this word is translated "magician" or "sorcerer" in the sense of illusionist or fortune-teller, and this is how it is translated in all of its occurrences (e.g. Acts 13:6) except for the Gospel of Matthew , where, depending on translation, it is rendered "wise man" ( KJV , RSV ) or left untranslated as Magi , typically with an explanatory note ( NIV ). However, early church fathers, such as St. Justin , Origen , St. Augustine and St. Jerome , did not make an exception for

3538-576: The Revelation of the Magi , indicates that the Magi arrived in April (rather than January). It also implies the Magi arrived before Jesus's birth, while Mary was still pregnant, yet nevertheless a celestial child of the transformed Star of Bethlehem was able to commission them, suggesting that Jesus could be in multiple places at once. The Quran does not contain Matthew's episode of the Magi. However,

3660-558: The Syriac churches , they often number twelve. Likewise, the Magi's social status is never stated: Although some biblical translations describe them as astrologers , they were increasingly identified as kings by at least the third century, which conformed with Christian interpretations of Old Testament prophecies that the messiah would be worshipped by kings. The mystery of the Magi's identities and background, combined with their theological significance, has made them prominent figures in

3782-496: The Zo- , even as the living star. Later, an even more elaborate mytho-etymology evolved: Zoroaster died by the living ( zo- ) flux ( -ro- ) of fire from the star ( -astr- ) which he himself had invoked, and even that the stars killed him in revenge for having been restrained by him. The second, and "more serious" factor for the association with astrology was the notion that Zoroaster was a Chaldean . The alternate Greek name for Zoroaster

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3904-680: The infant Jesus on the night of his birth, in a manger accompanied by the shepherds and angels, but this should be understood as an artistic convention allowing the two separate scenes of the Adoration of the Shepherds on the birth night and the later Adoration of the Magi to be combined for convenience. The single biblical account in Matthew 2 simply presents an event at an unspecified point after Christ's birth in which an unnumbered party of unnamed "wise men" ( μάγοι , mágoi ) visits him in

4026-606: The renaissance and baroque , including Jacob Clemens non Papa , Giaches de Wert , and Heinrich Schütz (in German). Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed an oratorio, Caedes sanctorum innocentium , H.411, for soloists, chorus, two violins, and continuo (1683–1685). Today, the date of Holy Innocents' Day , also called the Feast of the Holy Innocents , or Childermas or Children's Mass , varies. The commemoration of

4148-457: The "Magi of Bethlehem" as Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Caspar of India. Historian John of Hildesheim relates a tradition in the ancient Silk Road city of Taxila (in present-day Punjab, Pakistan) that one of the Magi passed through the city on the way to Bethlehem. Sebastian Brock, a historian of Christianity, has said: "It was no doubt among converts from Zoroastrianism that   ... certain legends were developed around

4270-434: The 15th century. According to the book The Travels of Marco Polo , gold symbolises the power over the material world as a king on earth, frankincense symbolises the power over the spiritual world as a deity, and myrrh symbolises the healing power over death. Holidays celebrating the arrival of the Magi traditionally recognise a distinction between the date of their arrival and the date of Jesus' birth. The account given in

4392-487: The 15th century. The "holy oil" traditionally used by the Eastern Orthodox Church for performing the sacraments of chrismation and unction is traditionally scented with myrrh, and receiving either of these sacraments is commonly referred to as "receiving the myrrh". The picture of the Magi on the 7th-century Franks Casket shows the third visitor – he who brings myrrh – with a valknut over his back,

4514-635: The Afghan city Kandahar , which he is said to have founded under the name Gundopharron. Within Eastern Christianity, the Magi have varied names. Among Syrian Christians , they are Larvandad , Gushnasaph , and Hormisdas; in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church , they are Hor , Karsudan , and Basanater , while Armenian Catholics have Kagpha , Badadakharida and Badadilma . Many Chinese Christians believe that one of

4636-483: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and German-speaking Catholic areas is the writing of the three kings' initials above the main door of Catholic homes in chalk. This is a new year's blessing for the occupants and the initials also are believed to also stand for " Christus mansionem benedicat " ("May/Let Christ Bless This House"). Depending on the city or town, this will be happen sometime between Christmas and

4758-584: The Eastern Churches, especially during Lent . Kneeling has remained an important element of Christian worship to this day. Three gifts are explicitly identified in Matthew: gold , frankincense and myrrh ; in Koine Greek , these are chrysós ( χρυσός ), líbanos ( λίβανος ) and smýrna ( σμύρνα ). There are various theories and interpretations of the meaning and symbolism of

4880-664: The Epiphany, with most municipalities celebrating closer to the Epiphany . Also in Catholic parts of the German-speaking world, these markings are made by the Sternsinger (literally, " star singers ") – a group of children dressed up as the magi. The Sternsinger carry a star representing the one followed by the biblical magi and sing Christmas carols as they go door to door, such as " Stern über Bethlehem ". After singing,

5002-571: The Feast of the Epiphany considered by many Filipinos as the traditional end of their Christmas season . The tradition of the Three Kings' cabalgata is today done only in some areas, such as the old city of Intramuros in Manila , and the island of Marinduque . Another dying custom is children leaving shoes out on Epiphany Eve, so that they may receive sweets and money from the Three Kings. With

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5124-601: The Gospel of Matthew does not state that they were present on the night of the birth; in the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary remain in Bethlehem until it is time for Jesus' dedication in Jerusalem, after which they return to their home in Nazareth. The visit of the Magi is commemorated in most Western Christian churches separately from Christmas. The visit of the Magi is part of the Epiphany on 6 January, which concludes

5246-508: The Gospel, and translated the word in its ordinary sense, i.e. as "magician". The Gospel of Matthew states that magi visited the infant Jesus to do him homage shortly after his birth ( 2:1–2:12 ). The gospel describes how magi from the east were notified of the birth of a king in Judaea by the appearance of his star. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem , they visited King Herod to determine

5368-656: The Great , and which can be dated to about 520 BC. In this trilingual text, certain rebels have magian as an attribute; in the Old Persian portion as maγu- (generally assumed to be a loan word from Median ). The meaning of the term in this context is uncertain. The other instance appears in the texts of the Avesta , the sacred literature of Zoroastrianism. In this instance, which is in the Younger Avestan portion,

5490-558: The Great , known as the Behistun Inscription . Old Persian texts, predating the Hellenistic period , refer to a magus as a Zurvanic , and presumably Zoroastrian, priest. Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, mágos (μάγος) was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek goēs (γόης), the older word for a practitioner of magic , with

5612-485: The Greeks supposed him to be – was for the Hellenists the figurehead of the 'magi', and the founder of that order (or what the Greeks considered to be an order ). He was further projected as the author of a vast compendium of "Zoroastrian" pseudepigrapha , composed in the main to discredit the texts of rivals. "The Greeks considered the best wisdom to be exotic wisdom" and "what better and more convenient authority than

5734-526: The Greeks' image of Zoroaster would metamorphose into a magician too. The first century Pliny the Elder names "Zoroaster" as the inventor of magic ( Natural History xxx.2.3), but a "principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds. That dubious honor went to another fabulous magus, Ostanes , to whom most of

5856-525: The Innocents , in an unusual vertical format, is at Bologna. The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens painted the theme more than once. One version, now in Munich, was engraved and reproduced as a painting as far away as colonial Peru. The communion motet for the Feast of the Holy Innocents is the text from Matthew 2:18 (citing Jeremiah 31:15) Vox in Rama . This was set polyphonically by a number of composers of

5978-623: The Innocents also provided a comparison of ancient brutalities with the brutalities of the early modern period , during the period of religious wars that followed the Reformation ;– Bruegel's versions show the soldiers carrying banners with the Habsburg double-headed eagle. The 1590 version by Cornelis van Haarlem also seems to reflect the violence of the Dutch Revolt . Guido Reni 's early (1611) Massacre of

6100-518: The Innocents. Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th century) gives a homily De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum ("On Epiphany, and on the murder of the Innocents and the gifts of the Magi"). From the time of Charlemagne , Sicarius of Bethlehem was venerated at Brantôme, Dordogne as one of the purported victims of the Massacre. In the Middle Ages , especially north of the Alps ,

6222-413: The Jews , despite his recording many of Herod's misdeeds, including the murder of three of his own sons. The early 5th-century account of Macrobius —that "on hearing that the son of Herod, king of the Jews, had been slain when Herod ordered that all boys in Syria under the age of two be killed, [Augustus] said, 'It's better to be Herod's pig than his son'"—has been discounted as extra-biblical evidence for

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6344-457: The Keraite ruler Toghrul , married Tolui , the youngest son of Genghis, and became the mother of Möngke Khan and his younger brother and successor, Kublai Khan . Toghrul became identified with the legendary Central Asian Christian king Prester John , whose Mongol descendants were sought as allies against the Muslims by contemporary European monarchs and popes. Sempad the Constable , elder brother of King Hetoum I of Cilician Armenia , visited

6466-560: The Magas. Some classical astronomers and mathematicians of India such are Varahamihira are considered to be the descendants of the Magas. Varahamihira specifies that installation and consecration of the Sun images should be done by the Magas. al-Biruni mentions that the priests of the Sun Temple at Multan were Magas. The Magas had colonies in a number of places in India, and were the priests at Konark , Martanda and other sun temples. Victor H. Mair (1990) suggested that Chinese wū (巫 "shaman; witch, wizard; magician") may originate as

6588-473: The Magi are commonly referred to as "kings", there is nothing in the Gospel of Matthew that implies they were rulers of any kind. The identification of the Magi as kings is linked to Old Testament prophecies that describe the Messiah being worshipped by kings in Isaiah 60:3 , Psalm 68:29 , and Psalm 72:10 , which reads, "Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations serve him." Early readers reinterpreted Matthew in light of these prophecies and elevated

6710-421: The Magi as sorcerers and in several descriptions, they are negatively described as obstructing Jewish religious practices. Several references include the sages criticizing practices performed by various magi. One instance is a description of the Zoroastrian priests exhuming corpses for their burial practices which directly interfered with the Jewish burial rites. Another instance is a sage forbidding learning from

6832-419: The Magi of the Gospels". And Anders Hultgård concluded that the Gospel story of the Magi was influenced by an Iranian legend concerning magi and a star, which was connected with Persian beliefs in the rise of a star predicting the birth of a ruler and with myths describing the manifestation of a divine figure in fire and light. A model for the homage of the Magi might have been provided, it has been suggested, by

6954-473: The Magi to kings, which became widely accepted by at least 500 A.D. Later Christian interpretation stressed the adoration of the Magi and shepherds as the first recognition by humans of Christ as the Redeemer. However, the Protestant reformer John Calvin was vehemently opposed to referring to the Magi as kings, writing: "But the most ridiculous contrivance of the Papists on this subject is, that those men were kings... Beyond all doubt, they have been stupefied by

7076-463: The Magi worshiped Jesus as God. What subsequently happened to these gifts is never mentioned in the scripture, but several traditions have developed. One story has the gold being stolen by the two thieves who were later crucified alongside Jesus. Another tale has it being entrusted to and then misappropriated by Judas . One tradition suggests that Joseph and Mary used the gold to finance their travels when they fled Bethlehem after an angel had warned, in

7198-517: The Mediterranean coast of modern Turkey, and is first in line to kneel to Christ. Melchior is middle-aged, giving frankincense from Arabia , and Balthazar is a young man, very often and increasingly black-skinned, with myrrh from Saba (modern southern Yemen). Their ages were often given as 60, 40 and 20 respectively, and their geographical origins were rather variable, with Balthazar increasingly coming from Aksum or other parts of Africa, and being represented accordingly. Balthazar's blackness has been

7320-437: The Mongol court in Karakorum in 1247–1250 and in 1254. He wrote a letter to Henry I King of Cyprus and Queen Stephanie (Sempad's sister) from Samarkand in 1243, in which he said: "Tanchat [Tangut, or Western Xia ], which is the land from whence came the Three Kings to Bethlehem to worship the Lord Jesus which was born. And know that the power of Christ has been, and is, so great, that the people of that land are Christians; and

7442-415: The Persian Muslim encyclopedist al-Tabari , writing in the ninth century, gives the familiar symbolism of the gifts of the Magi, citing the late seventh century Persian-Yemenite writer Wahb ibn Munabbih . In much of the Spanish-speaking world , the Three Kings ( Los Reyes Magos de Oriente , Los Tres Reyes Magos or simply Los Reyes Magos ) receive letters from children and so bring them gifts on

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7564-401: The account of Thomas the Apostle 's visit to the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares I (21– c. 47 AD), also known as Gudapharasa, from which "Caspar" might derive as corruption of "Gaspar". Gondophares had declared independence from the Arsacids and ruled a kingdom spanning present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. According to historian Ernst Herzfeld, his name is perpetuated in the name of

7686-427: The actor parted company. Thereafter, mageia was used not for what actual magi did, but for something related to the word 'magic' in the modern sense, i.e. using supernatural means to achieve an effect in the natural world, or the appearance of achieving these effects through trickery or sleight of hand. The early Greek texts typically have the pejorative meaning, which in turn influenced the meaning of magos to denote

7808-428: The arrival of American culture in the early 20th century, the Three Kings as gift-givers have been largely replaced in urban areas by Santa Claus , and they only survive in the greeting "Happy Three Kings!" and the surname Tatlóngharì . The Three Kings are especially revered in Gapan, Nueva Ecija , where they are enshrined as patron saints in the National Shrine of Virgen La Divina Pastora . A tradition in Poland,

7930-483: The birth and the visit, and artistic depictions and the closeness of the traditional dates of December 25 and January 6 encourage the popular assumption that the visit took place the same winter as the birth, but later traditions varied, with the visit taken as occurring up to two winters later. This maximum interval explained Herod's command at Matthew 2:16 – 18 that the Massacre of the Innocents included boys up to two years old. Some more recent commentators, not tied to

8052-433: The child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path. The text specifies no interval between

8174-444: The children write the three kings' initials on the door frame in exchange for charitable donations. Each year, German and Austrian dioceses pick one charity towards which all Sternsinger donations nationwide will be contributed. Traditionally, one child in the Sternsinger group is said to represent Baltasar from Africa and so, that child typically wears blackface makeup. Many Germans do not consider this to be racist because it

8296-425: The church service." In Spain , Hispanic America , and the Philippines , 28 December is still a day for pranks , equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. Pranks ( bromas ) are also known as inocentadas and their victims are called inocentes ; alternatively, the pranksters are the inocentes and the victims should not be angry at them, since they could not have committed any sin . One of

8418-487: The day after The Epiphany. In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico , however, there are eight more days of celebration called las octavitas (the little eight days). According to the Catholic Church , the full Christmas Season is from December 25 to Candlemas on February 2. In the Philippines, beliefs concerning the Three Kings (Filipino: Tatlóng Haring Mago , lit. "Three Magi Kings"; shortened to Tatlóng Harì or Spanish Tres Reyes ) follows Hispanic influence, with

8540-419: The day was a festival of inversion involving role reversal between children and adults such as teachers and priests, with boy bishops presiding over some church services. Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens suggest that this was a Christianized version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played "masters" for a day). In some regions, such as medieval England and France, it

8662-411: The denomination. The Gospel of Matthew tells how the Magi visit Jerusalem to seek guidance as to where the king of the Jews has been born; King Herod directs them to Bethlehem and asks them to return to him and report, but they are warned in a dream that Herod wishes to find the child and kill him, and do not do so. Matthew continues: When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he

8784-695: The descendants of the ten Maga (Sanskrit मग ) priests who were invited to conduct worship of Mitra ( Surya ) at Mitravana ( Multan ), as described in the Samba Purana , Bhavishya Purana and the Mahabharata . Their original home was a mythological region called Śākadvīpa . According to Varahamihira (c. 505 – c. 587), the statue of the Sun god (Mitra), is represented as wearing the "northern" (Central Asian) dress, specifically with horse riding boots. Some Brahmin communities of India trace their descent from

8906-494: The discovery of two figurines with unmistakably Caucasoid or Europoid features dated to the 8th century BC, found in a 1980 excavation of a Zhou dynasty palace in Fufeng County , Shaanxi Province. One of the figurines is marked on the top of its head with an incised ☩ graph. Mair's suggestion is based on a proposal by Jao Tsung-I (1990), which connects the " cross potent " bronzeware script glyph for wu 巫 with

9028-487: The distant – temporally and geographically – Zoroaster?" The subject of these texts, the authenticity of which was rarely challenged, ranged from treatises on nature to ones on necromancy . But the bulk of these texts dealt with astronomical speculations and magical lore. One factor for the association with astrology was Zoroaster's name, or rather, what the Greeks made of it. His name was identified at first with star-worshiping ( astrothytes "star sacrificer") and, with

9150-553: The evening, in which the kings and their servants parade and throw sweets to the children (and parents) in attendance. The cavalcade of the three kings in Alcoy claims to be the oldest in the world, having started in 1886. The Mystery Play of the Three Magic Kings is also presented on Epiphany Eve. There is also a "Roscón" (Spain) or "Rosca de Reyes" (Mexico). In Spain, the role of Balthazar has always been played by

9272-456: The event due to its later authorship, possible influence by the gospel narrative, and the confused nature of the account. In view of the lack of independent confirmation that the event occurred, many scholars hold that the story is folklore inspired by Herod's reputation. Historian Paul L. Maier contended that the story's invention would have been a liability for Christians and—by pointing to Herod's violent actions and plans—argued that "one of

9394-425: The event had he been aware of it, France would not have been surprised if Joseph was ignorant of what would have been a minor episode of local violence. New Testament scholar Eugene Eung-Chun Park contested France's conclusion, saying that a small-scale massacre would have still "merited a remark by competent historians". Joan Taylor and Anthony Le Donne observe that Herod was a vindictive and harsh ruler, while it

9516-420: The gifts, particularly with respect to frankincense and myrrh. The theories generally break down into two groups: Frankincense and myrrh were burned during rituals among Egyptian, Greek and Roman societies. Ancient Egyptians used myrrh to embalm corpses and Romans burned it as a type of incense at funeral pyres. Myrrh was used as an embalming ointment and as a penitential incense in funerals and cremations until

9638-737: The journey to Rome of King Tiridates I of Armenia , with his magi, to pay homage to the Emperor Nero , which took place in AD 66, a few years before the date assigned to the composition of the Gospel of Matthew. There was a tradition that the Central Asian Naimans and their Christian relatives, the Keraites , were descended from the biblical Magi. This heritage passed to the Mongol dynasty of Genghis Khan when Sorghaghtani , niece of

9760-606: The location of the king of the Jews 's birthplace. Herod, disturbed, told them that he had not heard of the child, but informed them of a prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem . He then asked the magi to inform him when they find the child so that he himself may also pay homage to the child. Guided by the Star of Bethlehem , the wise men found the child Jesus in a house. They paid homage to him, and presented him with "gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh." (2.11) In

9882-450: The magi came from China. The phrase "from the east" ( ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν , apo anatolon ), more literally "from the rising [of the sun]", is the only information Matthew provides about the region from which they came. The Parthian Empire , centered in Iran ( Persia ), stretched from eastern Syria to the fringes of India. Though the empire was tolerant of other religions, its dominant religion

10004-721: The magi. In Arabic, "Magians" ( majus ) is the term for Zoroastrians . The term is mentioned in the Quran, in sura 22 verse 17, where the "Magians" are mentioned alongside the Jews , the Sabians and the Christians in a list of religions who will be judged on the Day of Resurrection . In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein 's Ba'ath Party used the term majus during the Iran–Iraq War as

10126-407: The magians as authorities for all religious matters (8.3.11), and imagines the magians to be responsible for the education of the emperor-to-be. Apuleius , a Numidian Platonist philosopher, describes magus to be considered as a "sage and philosopher-king" based on its Platonic notion. Once the magi had been associated with "magic" – Greek magikos – it was but a natural progression that

10248-515: The massacre is not immediately apparent, as Jeremiah's next verses go on to speak of hope and restoration. The historicity of the Matthew account is not accepted by many scholars. The story of the massacre is found in no gospel other than Matthew, nor is it mentioned in the surviving works of Nicolaus of Damascus (who was a personal friend of Herod the Great), nor in Josephus 's Antiquities of

10370-543: The massacre of the Holy Innocents, traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyrs , if unknowingly so, first appears as a feast of the Western church in the Leonine Sacramentary , dating from about 485. The earliest commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany , 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his hymn on the Epiphany. Leo in his homilies on the Epiphany speaks of

10492-509: The meaning magician . Hereditary Zoroastrian priesthood has survived in India and Iran. They are termed Herbad , Mobad (Magupat, i.e. chief of the Maga), and Dastur depending on the rank. The term only appears twice in Iranian texts from before the 5th century BC, and only one of these can be dated with precision. This one instance occurs in the trilingual Behistun inscription of Darius

10614-548: The more famous of these traditions is the annual " Els Enfarinats " festival of Ibi in Alacant , where the inocentes dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight. In Trinidad and Tobago , Catholic children have their toys blessed at a Mass. In the Roman Rite prior to 1955, a unique feature of this feast was the use of liturgical elements ordinarily ascribed to penitential days—including violet vestments,

10736-521: The more famous story of Simon Magus found in chapter 8, the Book of Acts ( 13:6–11 ) also describes another magus who acted as an advisor of Sergius Paulus , the Roman proconsul at Paphos on the island of Cyprus . He was a Jew named Bar-Jesus (son of Jesus), or alternatively Elymas . (Another Cypriot magus named Atomos is referenced by Josephus , working at the court of Felix at Caesarea .) One of

10858-474: The most doubted episodes in the New Testament has stronger historical credibility than it has thus far been accorded in critical scholarship." New Testament scholar Richard T. France held that, if this were a historical incident, it is unsurprising that it was not recorded by other historical sources due to the likely limited scale of the violence. While France believed that Josephus would have mentioned

10980-477: The night before Epiphany . In Spain , each one of the Magi is supposed to represent a different continent: Europe (Melchior), Asia (Caspar) and Africa (Balthasar). According to the tradition, the Magi come from the Orient on their camels to visit the houses of all the children, much like Sinterklaas and Santa Claus with his reindeer elsewhere. Almost every Spanish city or town organises cabalgatas in

11102-610: The non-canonical Christian sources, the Syriac Infancy Gospel , provides, in its third chapter, a story of the wise men of the East which is very similar to much of the story in Matthew. This account cites Zoradascht (Zoroaster) as the source of the prophecy that motivated the wise men to seek the infant Jesus. In the Talmud , instances of dialogue between the Jewish sages and various magi are recorded. The Talmud depicts

11224-509: The omission of the Gloria , and the substitution of a Tract in place of the Alleluia—unless the feast fell on Sunday, in which case the rubrics required the feast to be celebrated as on its octave day, with red vestments, Gloria, and Alleluia. The octave of this feast was suppressed by Pope Pius XII in 1955, with the feast now celebrated using the features formerly ascribed to its octave day,

11346-430: The pseudepigraphic magical literature was attributed." For Pliny, this magic was a "monstrous craft" that gave the Greeks not only a "lust" ( aviditatem ) for magic, but a downright "madness" ( rabiem ) for it, and Pliny supposed that Greek philosophers – among them Pythagoras , Empedocles , Democritus , and Plato – traveled abroad to study it, and then returned to teach it (xxx.2.8–10). "Zoroaster" – or rather what

11468-575: The return from Egypt, as well as the Massacre, all centered on Rachel weeping in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. These events were likewise in one of the medieval N-Town Plays . The " Coventry Carol " is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors . The play depicts

11590-524: The rituals that Heraclitus refers to has not survived, and there is nothing to suggest that Heraclitus was referring to foreigners. Better preserved are the descriptions of the mid-5th century BC Herodotus , who in his portrayal of the Iranian expatriates living in Asia Minor uses the term "magi" in two different senses. In the first sense ( Histories 1.101 ), Herodotus speaks of the magi as one of

11712-576: The same meaning" as well. But it "may be, however", that Avestan moghu (which is not the same as Avestan maga- ) "and Medean magu were the same word in origin, a common Iranian term for 'member of the tribe' having developed among the Medes the special sense of 'member of the (priestly) tribe', hence a priest." Some examples of the use of magi in Persian poetry , are present in the poems of Hafez . There are two frequent terms used by him, first one

11834-694: The same shape found in Neolithic West Asia, specifically a cross potent carved in the shoulder of a goddess figure of the Halaf period . Massacre of the Innocents The Massacre (or Slaughter ) of the Innocents is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew ( 2:16 – 18 ) in which Herod the Great , king of Judea , orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in

11956-473: The stars and gained an international reputation for astrology , which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Their religious practices and astrological abilities caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic . The King James Version translates "magi" as wise men ; the same translation is applied to the wise men led by Daniel of earlier Hebrew Scriptures ( Daniel 2:48 ). The same word

12078-523: The subject in the Catholic Encyclopedia referenced estimates that both assumed the event actually occurred and recognized that Bethlehem was too small a town to provide such numbers, reducing the victims to between six and 20 children in the town. France, citing estimates that Bethlehem's population would have been around 1,000 people at the time the event was supposed to occur, concurred with an upper limit of around 20 children killed if it

12200-402: The subject of considerable recent scholarly attention; in art, it is found mostly in northern Europe, beginning from the 12th century, and becoming very common in the north by the 15th. The subject of which king is which and who brought which gift is not without some variation depending on the tradition. The gift of gold is sometimes associated with Melchior as well, and in some traditions Melchior

12322-522: The term appears in the hapax moghu.tbiš , meaning "hostile to the moghu ", where moghu does not (as was previously thought) mean "magus", but rather "a member of the tribe" or referred to a particular social class in the proto-Iranian language and then continued to do so in Avestan. An unrelated term, but previously assumed to be related, appears in the older Gathic Avestan language texts. This word, adjectival magavan meaning "possessing maga- ",

12444-558: The three Magi developed distinct characteristics in Christian tradition, so that between them they represented the three ages of (adult) man, three geographical and cultural areas, and sometimes other concepts. In one tradition, reflected in art by at least the 14th century—for example, in the Arena Chapel by Giotto in 1305—Caspar is old, normally with a white beard, and gives the gold; he is "King of Tarsus , land of merchants" on

12566-400: The three gifts have already gained their medieval interpretation as prophetic emblems of Jesus' identity, familiar in the carol " We Three Kings " by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. , 1857. John Chrysostom suggested that the gifts were fit to be given not just to a king but to God, and contrasted them with the Jews' traditional offerings of sheep and calves, and accordingly Chrysostom asserts that

12688-415: The traditional feast days, suggest a variety of intervals. The wise men are mentioned twice shortly thereafter in verse 16 , in reference to their avoidance of Herod after seeing Jesus, and what Herod had learned from their earlier meeting. The star which they followed has traditionally become known as the Star of Bethlehem . The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men and kings . The word magi

12810-437: The trepidation he felt when he had to inform the king of an emergency on the day. In denominations of Western Christianity , such as Catholicism and Lutheranism, some Christians attend Mass on Childermas to remember the martyrdom of the Holy Innocents. In England, the memorial is referred to as Childermas or Children's Mass in which "Children are given a blessing; they sing in the choir and take on other special roles in

12932-629: The tribes/peoples ( ethnous ) of the Medes . In another sense (1.132 ), Herodotus uses the term "magi" to generically refer to a " sacerdotal caste", but "whose ethnic origin is never again so much as mentioned." According to Robert Charles Zaehner , in other accounts, "we hear of Magi not only in Persia , Parthia , Bactria , Chorasmia , Aria , Media , and among the Sakas , but also in non-Iranian lands like Samaria , Ethiopia , and Egypt . Their influence

13054-496: The vicinity of Bethlehem . Modern scholarship finds no evidence that it happened outside the passages in Matthew, though it is congruous with Herod's character. The Feast of the Holy Innocents , also known as Childermas , is celebrated in the Western Christian Churches on 28 December, the fourth day of Christmastide . In Eastern Christianity , the feast is celebrated on various dates , depending on

13176-531: The whole land of Chata [Khitai, or Kara-Khitai ] believes those Three Kings. I have myself been in their churches and have seen pictures of Jesus Christ and the Three Kings, one offering gold, the second frankincense, and the third myrrh. And it is through those Three Kings that they believe in Christ, and that the Chan and his people have now become Christians." The legendary Christian ruler of Central Asia Prester John

13298-400: The wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where

13420-537: The year when they eat. Not only in Spain, but also in Argentina , Mexico , Paraguay and Uruguay , there is a long tradition of children receiving presents by the three " Reyes Magos " on the night of January 5th (Epiphany Eve) or Epiphany morning, January 6th, Día de Reyes , because it is believed that this is the day in which the Magi arrived bearing gifts for the Christ child. In most Latin American countries children also cut grass or greenery on January 5 and fill

13542-536: Was Zoroastrianism , with its priestly magos class. Although Matthew's account does not explicitly cite the motivation for their journey (other than seeing the star in the east, which they took to be the star of the King of the Jews), the apocryphal Syriac Infancy Gospel states in its third chapter that they were pursuing a prophecy from their prophet, Zoradascht (Zoroaster). There is an Armenian tradition identifying

13664-545: Was Zaratas / Zaradas / Zaratos ( cf. Agathias 2.23–5, Clement Stromata I.15), which – according to Bidez and Cumont – derived from a Semitic form of his name. The Suda 's chapter on astronomia notes that the Babylonians learned their astrology from Zoroaster. Lucian of Samosata ( Mennipus 6) decides to journey to Babylon "to ask one of the magi, Zoroaster's disciples and successors", for their opinion. The word mágos (Greek) and its variants appear in both

13786-457: Was also widespread throughout Asia Minor. It is, therefore, quite likely that the sacerdotal caste of the Magi was distinct from the Median tribe of the same name." As early as the 5th century BC, Greek magos had spawned mageia and magike to describe the activity of a magus, that is, it was his or her art and practice. But almost from the outset the noun for the action and the noun for

13908-727: Was an alternative to the Flight into Egypt in cycles of the Life of the Virgin . It decreased in popularity in Gothic art , but revived in the larger works of the Renaissance , when artists took inspiration for their "Massacres" from Roman reliefs of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs to the extent that they showed the figures heroically nude. The horrific subject matter of the Massacre of

14030-594: Was common for Jews at the time to face becoming refugees, frequently in Egypt . Taylor argues that the Historical Jesus could indeed have been a refugee whose background shaped his teachings. James DG Dunn also views Herod's massacre as an action in line with his known character. The author appears to have modeled the episode on the biblical story of Pharaoh 's attempt to kill the Israelite children in

14152-499: Was frightened and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel. ' " Then Herod secretly called for

14274-681: Was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. This is followed by a reference to and quotation from the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:15 ) (Jeremiah 31:14 in the Hebrew Bible): "Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: A voice is heard in Ramah , weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." ( Matthew 2:17 – 18 ). The relevance of this to

14396-572: Was indeed a historical event. Medieval liturgical drama recounted Biblical events, including Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors , performed in Coventry, England, included a haunting song about the episode now known as the Coventry Carol . The Ordo Rachelis tradition of four plays includes the Flight into Egypt, Herod's succession by Archelaus ,

14518-496: Was once the premise that Avestan maga- and Median (i.e. Old Persian) magu- were coeval (and also that both these were cognates of Vedic Sanskrit magha- ). While "in the Gathas the word seems to mean both the teaching of Zoroaster and the community that accepted that teaching", and it seems that Avestan maga- is related to Sanskrit magha- , "there is no reason to suppose that the western Iranian form magu (Magus) has exactly

14640-458: Was reportedly a descendant of one of the Magi. In her four volumes of visions of the life of Christ, Anne Catherine Emmerich says that the Magi came from the border between Chaldea and Elam , mentioning Ur , "Mozian" (Iraq's Maysan Province , anciently known as Mesene ), "Sikdor" ( Shushtar , near Susa ), and a "city, whose name sounded to me something like Acajaja" ( Aghajari ), as well as other cities farther east. Apart from their names,

14762-413: Was said to be an unlucky day when no new project should be started. There was a medieval custom of refraining where possible from work on the day of the week on which the feast of "Innocents Day" had fallen for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. Philippe de Commynes , the minister of King Louis XI of France , tells in his memoirs how the king observed this custom, and describes

14884-405: Was these three gifts, it is thought, which were the chief cause for the number of the Magi becoming fixed eventually at three. This episode can be linked to Isaiah 60 and to Psalm 72 , which report gifts being given by kings, and this has played a central role in the perception of the Magi as kings, rather than as astronomer-priests. In a hymn of the late 4th-century Hispanic poet Prudentius ,

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