Merry Christmas! This is a special time for so many around the world, particularly children … well, some children. Allow me to explain. We all know that Christmas here in the United States is a traditional holiday of festivities, feasts, family gatherings, and fond gift-giving. Children especially love this time of year because of the excitement surrounding all those presents under the tree. Christmas is celebrated in around 160 countries around the world, by billions of people. Yet, did you know that not all cultures celebrate this holiday by giving gifts during this week? In fact, in most of Latin America and much of the Caribbean, children receive gifts on January 6th, for “Three Kings Day” (Dia de Los Reyes/Magos) instead of Christmas Day, December the25th.
This traditional holiday is also known as the “Epiphany,” or “Theophany” feast day and is celebrated the twelfth night of Christmas in many countries – primarily, in Hispanic, European, and Slavic cultures. It is at that time of year when those cultures exchange gifts, reflect upon the spiritual connection, spend time with friends and family, and share a traditional bread, or cake. Sounds a lot like our Christmas holiday!
As you have probably discerned by now, it is called “Three Kings Day” because of the Biblical story of the arrival of the wise men in Bethlehem with gifts to present to the newborn, Jesus Christ. Matthew writes, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East[Greek: “Magos,” Latin: “Magi”] came to Jerusalem, … and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh,”(Matthew 2:1-12).
However, nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three of them, nor does it say they were kings! So, how did these “magi” (meaning: magician, or religious astrologers) come to be known as the “Three Kings”?
First, it is from the number of gifts that were brought to the infant Jesus that are named – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – by which many assume that there were three of these men (each brought one gift). While it might be a reasonable deduction, the fact remains, Matthew never tells us exactly how many of the wise men there were, nor does he tell us anything more about their identity, other than that they were “from the East.”
Secondly, the identification of these magi as “kings” is the result of ancient theologians interpreting Matthew in light of a few Old Testament prophecies. For example, Isaiah 60:3 says, “The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising,” and Psalms68:29, and 72:10-11speak of kings falling down before the Messiah and bringing gifts. They assumed that these were the wisemen of Matthew 2. Thus, by about 500A.D, their interpretations became a widely accepted tradition and the magi were elevated to “kings.” Since then, legends appeared about them, they were named to “sainthood,” and now considered to be martyrs for the Lord.
Therefore, it is from several assumptions made that the tradition and name arose. Yet, for the discerning Bible student, let us always remember that Jesus warned us to not lay aside the commandments of God to hold to the traditions of men (Mark 7:8), or as Paul says, “to not think beyond what is written,”(1Corinthians4:6).