It’s always interesting to track down the origins of holiday traditions. Now that Christmas is upon us, many are putting out their Nativity scenes with the usual stable, wise men and donkey. Some interesting facts:
- The Bible doesn’t state how many wise men there were. Three is divined from the number of gifts. However, some traditions list many more Magi.
- We Three Kings tells us they are from the Orient. Some people may think this means the Far East, i.e. Japan and its neighbors. True today, but not back then. These terms referred to Persia (centered in modern-day Iran).
- Nowhere does the Bible record Mary riding a donkey. That comes from the Protevangelium of James:
-
“He [Joseph] saddled the donkey and seated her [Mary] on it; and his son led it along, while Joseph followed behind.” (Protevangelium of James 17:2)
- The Bible simply reads “manger” as to where Jesus was placed. We assume this means he was in a stable, but very early traditions state that a cave was being used as a stable. The mother of Constantine, Helena, had a church built over the cave, the Church of the Nativity.
Ultimately just trivia, but it should give one pause and think, “Does the Bible actually read what I have always thought it states or other people claim it does?”
