Three Kings

Those who are soldiers of the temple are of God.

6 January

Three Kings, also called the revelation of the Lord = the first feast of the revelation. Solemnitas Epiphaniae Domini in Latin.

Three Kings

Better known as the three wise men who went to visit Jesus in the maternity period. They came from the East – then Persia – present-day Iran, the Star of Bethlehem gave them the direction where Jesus lay in a manger. The medieval meanings of the wise men were that the 3 kings refer to the age phases of a human being. Melchior is the old King 60 years old, he has a gray beard. Caspar is 40 years old and the youngest King is 20 years old, the Black King, his name is Balthasar.
The 3 kings also refer to the 3 continents that were known at the time: Europe, Asia and Africa.

Many names for the 3 wise men – the 3 kings:

In the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew (from around 80 AD) says: ‘Magi (priests or scholars) came from the East.’ But it does not say how many they were. In the Syriac Orthodox Zuqnin chronicle, from around 775 AD, the wise men are said to have been twelve, so a busy maternity visit.

In the book Excerpta Latina Barbari, a translation of a fifth-century writing, three wise men are listed: Bithisarea, Melichior and Gathaspa (the names of the three Wise Men were later westernized into Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar).

The Magi are called magoi in the ancient Greek Bible translation, priests of Zoroastrian origin. In the Syriac Christian scriptures too, the sages have Persian names. So the three seem to come from Persia, present-day Iran.

But how can Reprobus be Christopher?

Melchior would give Jesus gold, as a symbol for the little one’s future role as king of the Jews. Caspar would give incense, which would stand for Jesus’ divinity. Balthasar gave the herb myrrh, which would (rather unpleasantly) be the symbol for Jesus’ mortality. Furthermore, all those things were just very precious in those days, and then a gift is quickly good.

Matthew (Mt 2, 1-12) speaks of ‘wise men from the east’ who followed a star in search of ‘the newborn king of the Jews’. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts. Melchior gave Gold, which is for a king. Caspar gave Jesus incense for a God and Balthasar gave myrrh, which is legamic, because it is a symbol for a dead person. But for here it is that Jesus is human. Since those gifts were very expensive at the time, it was soon good.

In this sense, the three wise men were the first pilgrims, the first to follow ‘the way of faith’, and the first to really see Jesus (hence the first Feast of Revelation, also called Epiphany). The baptism of Christ is the second feast of the Revelation, second Epiphany. This is celebrated on the Sunday after 3 Kings. The third feast of the Revelation, the third Epiphany, is the presentation of the Lord in the Temple. This falls on February 2. Also called Candlemas or Candlemas. Jesus, like every first-born Jewish boy, is presented to God in the Temple.

The first king is Melchior, the eldest with gray hair and a long gray beard. Elegantly dressed in a purple-red tunic with a short green cloak, with purple-red shoes underneath; worked through with white. He wore a Phrygian cap made of fabric and different colors. He offered gold to his King, his Lord.

The second king is called Caspar with beautiful red hair. A young king without a beard. Dressed in a green tunic, with a short red cloak and also purple-red shoes. He offered incense to his King, his Lord.

The third king, Baltasar, wore a red tunic with a white, short cloak and green shoes. He offered myrrh to his King, his Lord.

All their garments were made of silk.

The Three Wise Men wanted to see the new ‘king of the Jews’ and knocked on King Herod’s door to ask where they could find him. Herod, did not want to know anything about a “new” king of the Jews, did not know where the “new” king was and therefore tried to get that information from them. To supposedly pay tribute to the new King himself.

A bright star, the star of Bethlehem, in the sky gave the 3 wise men the direction where the King of the Jews, the Messiah, would have been born. It was a few days of traveling.

While they were sleeping, the 3 wise men had a vision. They were warned not to let Herod know where Jesus would be. To confuse Herod, all three chose a different way back home. When Herod noticed this, he had all newborn children in Bethlehem murdered (‘Day of the Innocent Children’). Joseph, who received this warning from God, was able to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus in time.

What else do we know about the 3 wise men? That according to Eastern Christian stories it would be about 12 wise men. Nice and busy.

We don’t really know much else and it is also sinister. After the visit, they go back to their homeland. But in the end, all three died as martyrs. Their bodies were taken to Constantinople. Constantinople has been called Istanbul since 1930. Later the bodies were taken to Milan and then in the 12thcentury to the cathedral in Cologne. Where the relics are now.

Tradition in the Netherlands is that on 3 kings, 3 children, dressed as the 3 kings, go house to house and sing the song.

Another 3 Kings song:

Epiphany, Epiphany
give me a new hat
because the old man is worn out
Our mother is not allowed to know
Our father has the money
already counted out on the counter

Epiphany, Epiphany
give me a new dress
my old man is full of holes
my grandmother has the measurements
my grandfather saved
and neatly saved every knot

In addition, 1 of the 3 children has a rotating star on a stick. The Star of Bethlehem. They ring the doorbell and then sing a song in exchange for candy. Just like with Sint Maarten. Here it is called “Star Singing” and in the past grown-ups also participated.

With 3 kings, there is also 3 kings cake baking AND eating of course. A bean is hidden in this cake. Whoever finds the bean is the king or queen that day. You can wear the crown all day and, for example, say what we eat that day 😊

In Spain, 3 kings is celebrated very exuberantly.