Mark D. Roberts Can We Trust the Gospels?: Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Good News Publishers, 2007 p. 102

Levine, Amy-Jill (2001). "Visions of kingdoms: From Pompey to the first Jewish revolt". In Coogan, Michael D. (ed.). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513937-2. Gamble, Harry Y. (1995). Books and Readers in the Early Church: A History of Early Christian Texts. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-06918-1. Forbes, Bruce David (2008-11-13). Christmas: A Candid History. University of California Press. p.27. ISBN 978-0-520-25802-0. In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days. If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then Twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself. After Christmas and Epiphany were in place, on December 25 and January 6, with the twelve days of Christmas in between, Christians gradually added a period called Advent, as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Christmas. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

Early Christians viewed Jesus as "the Lord" and the word Kyrios appears over 700 times in the New Testament, referring to him as such. [113] The use of the word Kyrios in the Septuagint Bible also assigned to Jesus the Old Testament attributes of an omnipotent God. [113] The use of the term Kyrios, and hence the Lordship of Jesus, pre-dated the Pauline epistles, but Paul expanded and elaborated on the topic. [113] Can we use an Old Testament prophecy to determine where the Wise Men came from? Those who believe in the accuracy of biblical prophecy will not have a problem doing so. However, there are other indicators to suggest the Arabian peninsula rather than Persia. The three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are overlooked as clues to solve the riddle. Gifts of the Magi Nativity! is a 2009 British Christmas musical comedy film directed by Debbie Isitt and released on 27 November 2009 and the first instalment in the Nativity film series. The film stars Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen. In the film, teacher Paul Maddens (Freeman) lies to his rival that Hollywood are coming to watch his school's Christmas nativity, but after the lie gets out of hand, he must resolve the issue fast. The film was written by its director, Debbie Isitt, but was also partially improvised. [2]

See also: Christmas music and Nativity play The Nativity depicted in an English liturgical manuscript, c. 1310–1320 A Christmas carol card, Boston, 1880Ehrman, Bart D. (1996). The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-510279-6. The story of the queen of Sheba (see 1 Kgs 10), who came in procession with great royal gifts of wealth establishes a prophetic precedent. Just as the queen of Sheba came to bear gifts to the Jewish king Solomon, so it could be that the king of Sheba during Jesus’ time came, like his illustrious ancestor, to bear rich gifts to the king of the Jews. Van de Sandt, H.W.M. (2005). " Introduction". Matthew and the Didache: Two Documents from the Same Jewish-Christian Milieu?. ISBN 978-9023240778. , in Van de Sandt, H.W.M, ed. (2005). Matthew and the Didache. Royal Van Gorcum&Fortress Press. ISBN 978-90-232-4077-8. It is here that some scholars suggest the prophecy of a “Jewish messiah” becomes known among the peoples of the east, as communicated by Daniel.