We have all heard that a divine Christmas star
guided the three Magi to Christ about two thousand
years ago. Astronomers have tried to calculate the
time when a new star may have made appearance about
the time it is believed to have shone but no such
incident seems to be possible, according to their
calculations. The theory that it could have been a
shooting star is dismissed on the grounds that
shooting stars or meteors last only for few seconds
or minutes while the divine Star that we are talking
about must have been there for weeks at least
considering the great distances the Wise Men
traveled to reach Jesus.
Comets can be seen for weeks and months but
calculations of astronomers show that there were no
comets near the Earth around the said birth of
Christ. According to some stargazers, Jesus was born
in the springtime of 6 B.C., and the Christmas Star
that we talk of was actually the triangle of the
planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, the constellation
that is known as Pisces. This constellation had
appeared before the birth of Moses, so the three
Wise Men who were eminent scholars and astrologers
in their own right, interpreted it as a sign of a
great event in the land of the Jews.
Pisces is also the special constellation of the
Hebrew people. However, for the most believers, the
appearance of the Christmas Star was simply a
miracle and to this day Christian holiday begins
with the appearance of the first star of Christmas
Eve. In Poland, there is a Festival of the Star.
After the Christmas Eve feast, the village priest
tests the religious knowledge of the children as the
'Star Man' as a part of its ritual. Alaskan children
carry star-shaped figures from house to house, sing
carols and receive treats while Hungarians carve
star on one half of the apple to invite good luck in
their homes. All over the world, the Star remains
the popular Christmas symbol and sparkling star
patterns are used to decorate homes and trees alike.
