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What better history to research during December than the frankincense and myrrh meaning and guests of the Nativity?
We Three Kings- we all know the song and to some extent we all think we know the story- Jesus is asleep in the manger and the three kings follow the star of Bethlehem to visit and bring gifts to the newborn king. But from there the story gets fuzzy. Who were these three kings and why did they bring these particular gifts? What even is Myrrh, let alone what was the myrrh meaning?
My son is a huge questioner and asked me this Christmas season. Going online I found the answers hard to find. But my sister, an acupuncturist in California, surprisingly had an interesting explanation. Here’s her proposal in explaining the origins of the Three Kings Names and Gifts.
Meet the Men: 3 Kings Names and Gifts
For starters, the names of the three Kings are believed to be Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar. But, this is a guess because there is very little known about the actual kings. They are only mentioned in the Bible as wise men who traveled from the East. However, we’re not even completely sure how many kings there were. Theological scholars have determined over the years that there were three. Some believe this was because of a symbolic significance- (to demonstrate the three ages of men) others came to this determination because of the fact there were only three gifts mentioned.
The gifts mentioned were gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold feels pretty self-explanatory- since Joseph and Mary were literally holed up in a barn, gold would probably come in handy. But what were these other gifts?
The general explanation offered is they were very expensive, fragrant smelling oils and the gifts were meant to bestow a great honor. This was the explanation I remember being offered in my own Catholic school days. This was also the explanation my son received which left him asking these questions. His exact words, I believe, were, “Why would these “wise” men bring gifts that had no purpose except to smell good? Why would Jesus have needed that?” Touche.
The other explanation I’ve found feels almost “woo-woo” to me. Myrrh was an oil used for burying the dead and the wise men were so “wise” that they were foretelling the future and Jesus’s future crucifixion. Hm, not sure how I feel about “fortune-telling” in the Nativity story.
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Here’s where my sister enters with what honestly feels like such a common-sense explanation. According to Chinese medicine, myrrh and frankincense were often used in combination. Their purpose? To promote healing, in particular, to reduce swelling, alleviate pain and heal bleeding, etc. I.e., it was a common herb used after childbirth.
So, this would mean that these wise men were indeed “wise” in bringing extremely valuable and useful gifts for the new mother, not the new baby. Seriously, what better gifts could there be than helping poor traumatized Mary heal from giving birth in a barn?
I know I felt like I’d stumbled upon an “aha” moment upon hearing this myrrh meaning and more and I hope it brings you some joy and clarity this holiday season as well. Thank you to my fabulous sister- Keri Peters for her resources and insight for this article. Please feel free to reach out to her at HERE for any other herbal or acupuncture questions in the future.
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