Today, Three Kings Day, marks the end of the Twelve Days of
Christmas and is observed this year on Tuesday, January 6. It is a celebration of the story of three wise
men (traditionally Kings or Magi) visiting the newborn Jesus with gifts. The
word "maji" (plural of the Latin magus) wasn't used until centuries
after the canonization of the books known today as the New Testament, and then to
denote followers of Zoroastrianism or Zoroaster and much later as a
practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other forms of
esoteric knowledge. Thus the association or confusion with the scriptural term
"wise men."
The story is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew versus 1-12. Neither of the terms, "Kings" or "Magi,"
are found there:
1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the
Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests
and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of
Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art
not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.
(Compare
Micah 5:2 - " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting.")
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the
wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go
and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a
dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own
country another way.
In this story, wise men (but traditionally Magi or Kings)
from the east follow a star to Jerusalem, where they ask Herod, the king
appointed by the Romans, what he knows about a newly born "King of the
Jews." This sounds like a challenge to Herod, who gathers his priests to
learn where and who is this king. They relay a prophecy that Messiah will be
born in Bethlehem, and Herod sends the wise men there, saying: "Go and
search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that
I may go also and worship him." The wise men -- named by tradition,
Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, but names never appearing in scripture --
eventually find Mary and her son, Jesus, to whom they give gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh, and then return home, having been told in a dream to by-pass
Herod.
In 1857 a carol recounting a portion of this story was
written by an American, John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Known variously as "We
Three Kings" or "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The
Quest of the Magi" it remains one of the most popular and most frequently
sung Christmas carols today
Although Hopkins originally worked as a journalist for a New
York newspaper and studied to become a lawyer, he chose to join the clergy upon
graduation. He studied at the General Theological Seminary in New York City and
was ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in 1850. Five years later he became
the seminary's first music teacher, a post he held until 1857 in addition to
his ministry as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania. It was during his final year of teaching at the seminary, that Hopkins
wrote "We Three Kings" for a Christmas pageant held at the seminary in
New York City. By authoring the lyrics and composing the music, he did
something extremely uncommon among carol composers, who would usually write
either the lyrics or music, but not both.
The carol achieved popularity within the circle of family,
friends, and students; thus encouraging Hopkins to publish the carol in 1862. However
popular this carol has become, the melody has been described as sad or moody or
solemn - almost a dirge - but somehow reminiscent of Eastern Mediterranean
music. And in this respect it may have had an influence on American expatriate T.S.
Eliot's 1927 poem "Journey of the Magi." The first three lines of the
poem reflecting the music's mood:
'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey…'
If you really want to read the poem in its entirety, all forty-three
lines of it, it can be found at: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/journey-magi
The carol is organized in such a way that three male voices could
each sing a single verse as a solo, those being the verses corresponding with
the gifts of each of the three kings. The first and last verses of the carol would
be sung together by all three as "verses of praise." The refrain
proceeds to praise the beauty of the Star of Bethlehem. Now, however, the
Magi's solos are typically not observed when singing the carol.
Although written in 1857 and not published until five years
later in 1862, it appeared in Hopkins' compilation titled "Carols, Hymns
and Songs." It was the first Christmas carol originating from the United
States to be published in the United Kingdom. In 1928, the carol was included
in the Oxford Book of Carols,” which praised the song and labelled it "one
of the most successful of modern composed carols.
In traditional form the lyrics are as follows:
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star.
Refrain:
O Star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.
Born a king on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein.
Refrain
Frankincense to offer have I.
Incense owns a Deity nigh.
Pray'r and praising, all men raising,
Worship Him, God on high.
Refrain
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom.
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Refrain
Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Peals through the earth and skies.
Refrain
