Tag Archives: Christmas

The Star of Bethlehem

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Eastern Orthodox icon of the birth of Christ by St. Andrei Rublev, 15th century. Note that the shepherd speaking with St. Joseph in the lower left is shown in profile, a pose reserved only for this shepherd, the Devil, and for Judas Iscariot and which indicates their interior wickedness and efforts to hide themselves from God. Also, the cave in which Christ is born is painted with the same absolute black pigment -- unmixed with any other dark colors, which is more usual -- as is the tomb of Christ or the abyss of Hell, into which the Divine Presence has entered.

Eastern Orthodox icon of the birth of Christ by St. Andrei Rublev, 15th century. Note that the shepherd speaking with St. Joseph in the lower left is shown in profile, a pose reserved only for this shepherd, the Devil, and for Judas Iscariot and which indicates their interior wickedness and efforts to hide themselves from God. Also, the cave in which Christ is born is painted with the same absolute black pigment — unmixed with any other dark colors, which is more usual — as is the tomb of Christ or the abyss of Hell, into which the Divine Presence has entered.

“We have seen his star in the East,” the magi told King Herod. “We have come to worship him.”

This news was a surprise to King Herod. He had no idea that a new King of the Jews had been born and had clearly NOT seen the star the magi had. What was the “star” which the magi claimed they had seen and which had told them to come find the newborn King in Judea? Since no one in Jerusalem seems to have seen it, the star could not have been a bright light in the sky or they would have noticed it. Since the Gospel text says that Herod later had all the boys aged two years or younger killed in his attempt to kill the Christ Child, the “star” must have been an astronomical event of some sort rather than a bright light or all the other parents whose children were butchered by Herod’s soldiers would have pointed out the house and said, “No! Not our children — the boy you want is in that house! There!” Also, the magi evidently had seen the star at least 2 years before and it had taken them that long to travel to Jerusalem.

I remember reading reports in December 1975 (my senior year of high school!) that the “star” was in fact a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation Pisces — and that this conjunction occurs once every 800 years! The magi, being astrologers, would have understood this to mean that a great king (Jupiter) who would usher in the End of Days (Saturn) was being born in Judea (Pisces). This conjunction occurred in December 1975, according to these reports, but I was unable to see it as I was not sure exactly where to look in the sky or on which date(s) to look.

In Orthodox icons (such as the one above), the Star of Bethlehem is often depicted not as a bright light but as a dark aureola, a semicircle at the top of the icon, indicating the “divine darkness” or Uncreated Light of Divine grace, with a ray pointing to “the place where the young child lay” (Matt 2:9). Sometimes the faint image of an angel is drawn inside the dark semi-circle, pointing the way for the Magi.

Frankincense

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"Olibanum resin" by Peter Presslein - photo taken by Peter Presslein. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olibanum_resin.jpg#/media/File:Olibanum_resin.j

“Olibanum resin” by Peter Presslein – photo taken by Peter Presslein. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olibanum_resin.jpg#/media/File:Olibanum_resin.j

Frankincense, recognized as one of the gifts — together with gold and myrrh — that the Magi brought to the Christ Child, is derived from the resin of certain kinds of trees that grow in the Middle East and Africa. Called “frankincense” because the Franks had a near-monopoly on importing it into Western Europe during the Middle Ages, it has always been the one of the most precious (i.e. expensive!) kinds of incense available; hence, its association with gold as an appropriate gift for the Christ Child. (Nowadays, frankincense is still very expensive in most cases but can sometimes be purchased for more reasonable prices here.) Used in the Temple in Jerusalem before the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D., frankincense is still burned year-round as incense in many Christian churches although some only use it at Christmas-time.

censing-in-church1

In many medieval sermons, frankincense was associated with death and resurrection because the phoenix was said to return to Egypt to set itself aflame in a frankincense tree. Burnt to ash in a fragrant cloud of incense, the famous nearly immortal bird was reborn as a small worm crawling from the ashes. This worm grew into a new phoenix. The air in the Garden of Eden was said to have smelled like frankincense, which is why devils and demons were said to still flee from burning frankincense since it reminds them of the Paradise they were driven from and are still denied.

Flowers and branches of the Boswellia sacra tree, the species from which most frankincense is derived

Flowers and branches of the Boswellia sacra tree, the species from which most frankincense is derived

The “pearls” or “tears” of frankincense resin melt when they are placed atop burning coals; the fragrant smoke is released as the resin melts. The fragrant smoke rising from the charcoal is often used as an image of prayer. Recipes for other scents or fragrances of incense are often perfumes added to frankincense, which remains the basis for much incense still used in the modern world.

(UPDATE: On December 7, 2015 this post was a record-breaker! It was clicked on 162 times, setting a new record for clicks-in-one-day on this site. THANK YOU TO ALL who helped set this new record!)

Twelfth Night, 2015

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Czech doors inscribed with Epiphany blessing

Czech doors inscribed with Epiphany blessing

Western Christians observe a twelve-day festival, starting on December 25, and ending on January 5, known as Christmastide or the Twelve Days of Christmas. Christmas ends with the celebration of Epiphany (January 6), the end of the Twelve Days.

On the Feast of the Epiphany, the priest, wearing white vestments, will bless the Epiphany water, frankincense, gold, and chalk. Chalk is used to write the initials of the three magi over the doors of churches and homes. The letters stand for the initials of the Magi (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), and also the phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, which translates as “may Christ bless the house”.

In the 15th century, the Magi were also invoked to protect epileptics from seizures. They were named in all-purpose conjurations of various sorts and were considered extremely powerful figures. Their relics are said to be housed in the cathedral of Cologne (beginning in the late 1100s) and were an important destination for pilgrims in the following centuries.

There is also a legend that all the water in a house will become wine (at midnight?) on Epiphany Eve; this ties in with the commemoration of the wedding at Cana, when Jesus turned water into wine, which is a secondary or even tertiary theme of the Epiphany festival.

According to ancient custom, the priest announced the date of Easter on the feast of Epiphany. This tradition dated from a time when calendars were not readily available, and the church needed to publicize the date of Easter, since many celebrations of the liturgical year depend on it. The proclamation may be sung or proclaimed at the ambo by a deacon, cantor, or reader either after the reading of the Gospel or after the post-communion prayer. (In New York City, the only church I know to do this according to the proper chant is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, commonly known as “Smokey Mary’s,” in Times Square.)