Biblical Magi Italian "presepio" or Nativity crèche. Further reading Biblical Magi The biblical Magi ( or ; singular: magus), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, were, in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition, a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are regular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition. Matthew is the only of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi. Matthew reports that they came "from the east" to worship the
Little Christmas the wise men (or Magi) brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Tradition names them Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. The custom of blessing homes on Epiphany developed because the feast commemorates the time that the three kings visited the home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day (December 25) and end on January 5, eve of the traditional date of the Epiphany. In other parts of the world, it is sometimes referred to as "Old Christmas" or "Old Christmas Day", so called for the same reasons as in Ireland.