The word "Christmas" means "Mass of Christ,"
later shortened to "Christ-Mass."



The even shorter form "Xmas" - first used in Europe in the 1500s -
is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter
of Christ's name: Xristos, therefore "X-Mass."



THE WISEMEN

The Wisemen were actually called 'Magi'
Magi were scholars who specialized in astrology, medicine and natural science.

We read of the story of the Magi and the events surrounding this time
in the book of Luke Chapter 2.

THE STAR

There are many speculations as to what 'the star' was exactly.
click here for more detailed information on 'the star'.




THREE?

There is actually no reference in the Bible to there being 'three' wisemen.


In the well known worldly translations of the story of the three wisemen.
It is possible (and a guess) that the number 'three' was chosen because:
there were three gifts;
or because the number 'three' represents the Trinity;
also, the number three can symbolically suggest a group.
Perhaps for all these reasons it was adapted, or assumed, that there were three of them.

However, there is no indication as to how many Magi there were in Scripture.


ORDER OF EVENTS

There are beautiful songs, and drama's played out every year of
how the Three Wisemen followed the Star to the baby Jesus.

But in actual fact, it didn't unfold in the order of events that these
interpretations portray.


THE SHEPHERDS:

It is in a separate account in the book of Matthew,
where we learn of the shepherds and their experience.

The shepherds in the field were visited by an angel of the Lord to announce Jesus birth.
The angel announced the birth and pointed them to the star to follow.
Scripture tells of how they found the Baby Jesus lying in a manger where he was born.
And so it was the shepherds that actually visited Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, just born
and lying in a manger.

In songs and stories and visual presentations,
we always see the shepherds AND the wisemen at the manger scene together.
BUT according to Scripture--the Magi saw the child Jesus much later than the account
of the shepherds --as much as 1 year or more later.


There was a much longer time frame before the 'Magi' came upon
the child Jesus. For example: They found him in a 'house' as said in Scripture:
Scripture also says they found the 'young child' (not baby).
Therefore, Jesus was older, and not a newborn, when the Magi paid their visit.


It is recorded that the Magi, after they found the Lord,
were visited in a dream and told by an angel of the Lord to leave Bethlehem
that something terrible was going to happen,
and that they were to avoid King Herod altogether.
They were directed to leave Bethlehem and return home in a different
direction than the way that they come.

In that same time frame, seemingly right after the Magi's visit;
Joseph was also told by an angel of the Lord in a dream, that they
must leave immediately and flee to Egypt. They left that night.

Once King Herod learned that the Magi had left,
He was furious that the Magi has snuck away without
reporting to him where Jesus was.

Although he told the Magi that he wanted to know where Jesus was so that
he too could go and worship him. In fact, King Herod was incensed that they
were calling Jesus 'King of the Jews' and that his own chief priests and scribes
validated the possibility that this was truly the prophesied 'ruler of God's people'.
King Herod found this a threat and his true inentions were to have Jesus killed.


Even though the Magi did not lead King Herod to the child Jesus.
King Herod did know for certain that Jesus was somwhere in Bethlehem where
the Magi were searching.


So the King put out orders to slain every child 2 years old and under in Bethlehem
--the fact that he wanted every child 2 and under killed--
suggests that the time frame-- from when the he first spoke with the Magi--
to the time when they left--could have been up to 2 years.

Therefore, the Magi did not locate Jesus until he was almost 2 years old.

Not exactly how those famous Christmas songs, stories
and stage plays tell of the events of this true story.

It's all Bible Fact.

THE GIFTS THE MAGI PRESENTED TO THE YOUNG JESUS:

*Gold : self explanatory
*Frankincense: is a gum resin used as a base for incense
*Myrrh: is also a gum resin and valued as a perfume and also used in embalming

Read of these events from Scripture itself
click here



Christmas Lights
The tradition of stringing lights at Christmas honors the early Christians
who were persecuted for their religious beliefs.
To signal that Mass was being said in a particular house,
a single candle was lit in the window.





Why do we deck the halls with holly during Christmas?
The berries are symbolic of the blood of Jesus.
The thorny leaves represent the thorns of his crown.





Why are poinsettias associated with Christmas?
They were brought from Mexico in 1828 by Dr. Joel Poinsett.
There, the Mexicans had honored the plant because it resembled
the radiant Star of Bethlehem.





Where does the tradition of Christmas tinsel come from?
It came from a story of spiders at the Nativity who wished
to give Jesus a gift but had nothing to offer.
So they created silvery webs of design at the nativity to commemorate Jesus birth.





What do candy canes have to do with Christmas?
They are designed to resemble the crook of a shepherd.
They were first given to children in France in the 18th century
to keep them silent during mass.
The red and white colors stand for the blood and purity of Jesus.





The name 'Bethlehem' means in Hebrew, 'house of bread'.

Jesus, the bread of life, was laid in a manger when He was born.
A manger is a trough that holds food for the animals in the stable.




Only three angels are mentioned by name in the Bible:
Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.



SNOW
Job 38:22
God says: "Have you entered into the treasures of the snow?"
It wasn't until the advent of the microscope that man discovered
that each and every single snowflake is uniquely a symmetrical "treasure."