Each year, as we approach the holiday season, our preparations for Christmas include revisiting the events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. Bethlehem, the shepherds, and the angels are familiar to us all. But not much is generally known about the mysterious "Magi" (Three Kings) who came to worship the infant Jesus. There is only one book in the Bible that specifically mentions the Magi and the star (Bethlehem) in its account of Jesus' birth. That book is Matthew's Gospel, which is the first book of the New Testament.

The following background may be helpful to stimulate conversations around the fireplace as our thoughts turn to this incredible event from which we measure our very calendar.

The Priesthood of the Medes
The ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes (known today as the Kurds) credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge. After some Magi, who had been attached to the Median court, proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams, Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia.

It was in this dual capacity, whereby civil and political counsel was invested with religious authority, that the Magi became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian empire.

Traditions
Most of what we associate with the "Magi" is from early church traditions. Most have assumed there were three of them, since they brought three specific gifts (but the Biblical text doesn't number them). They are called "Magi" from the Latinized form of the Greek word magoi, transliterated from the Persian, for a select sect of priests. (Our word "magic" comes from the same root.)

As the years passed, the traditions became increasingly embellished. By the 3rd century they were viewed as kings. By the 6th century they had names: Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa. Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth--the three sons of Noah--and thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. A 14th century Armenian tradition identifies them as Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar.

For the early church it is believed the Magi represented the three races of man: the black-skinned peoples of Africa (in Spain, at least, the personification of Balthazar, but usually represented as Melchior); the Asiatic peoples (Balthazar); and Europeans (Caspar).