On the 12th Day of Christmas…The Three Kings Arrived

I am often befuddled when I see neighbors taking down the Christmas decoration before the new year…

Often there are statements of “blank slates” and “new starts,” but my reaction is, Christmas is not over!

For me, the decorations and tree stay up until January 6th.

Everyone knows the song “The 12 Days of Christmas,” with its fantastically ludicrous present list, which get more expensive with each year!

But often forgotten is that while Christmas Day is the 25th of December, there are infact 12 days of Christmas.

January 6th is the 12th day of Christmas, which on the church calendar is “Epiphany.” Epiphany celebrates when the Magi found the baby Jesus, gave him gifts and worshiped him.

As a kid who was born in Puerto Rico and spent some of my formative years in Spain, it was always “Three Kings Day.”

In these cultures, it was the Three Kings, not Santa who brought gifts to children, and the gifts were received on January 6th not on December 25th. While Santa is making global inroads and becoming more popular with every year, in many of these Spanish/Latin American cultures, the Three Kings are still very important. In nations where the Three Kings are the primary gift givers, Christmas Day is treated almost like we in the United States treat Thanksgiving. It is a time to be with family, and celebrate being together with a large meal (And then attending a Church service for good measure).  

In fact, the Three Kings are actually where the biblical tradition of giving gifts comes from.

And every year the Three Kings: Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar, ride to your home on their camels laden with gifts, and leave presents for the good little boys and girls. As a child I remember leaving grass for the King’s camels, and in the morning next to the gifts, a trail of grass was left leading back to our front door. It is a wonderful tradition, and remember it quite fondly.   

There is only one slight problem with the narrative of the Three Kings. In the Bible, the kings are never named, it’s not clear if there were only three of them, and they almost certainly were not kings.

Here is the full account of the story of the “Three Kings” From the Bible:

Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSV translation)

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 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 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 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.

In different translations of the Bible, “wise men” is more properly written as “Magi.”  Magi was a title for someone of great learning and wisdom, most often a Zoroastrian priest who spent a great deal of time studying the stars to find astrological portends. The reason why we celebrate the “Three Magi” is that three gifts were given to the baby Jesus, and many assumed there was one Magi per gift.

Over the ages, “Magi” and “Kings” became confounded in popular tradition, and myth making being what it is, each “King” gained a name and a back story becoming an important part of the Christmas story and Christmas tradition.

The Three Kings are an integral part of the Christmas season, and so I tell you fine folks, the tree and the decorations stay up until the 12th Day of Christmas, when the Three Kings come and give their gifts!