TheZoroastrian connection with Christmasand the three Magi

Need to know
The Zoroastrian connection with
Christmas and the three Magi
T
he festive period of Christmas
celebrates the birth of Jesus and, with
its lilting carols, a profusion of gaily-lit
Christmas trees and of course Santa Claus,
it is perhaps the best packaged religious
festival in the world, one which is
universally celebrated in almost every
country and by people of many faiths. With
the miracle birth of baby Jesus, the shining
star of Bethlehem — bringing with it the
Magi bearing gifts — and the more fun side
with Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer and
Frosty the Snowman, Christmas has
everyone sharing and celebrating it. But few
realise or even know of the close link
between Zoroastrianism and the Christian
festival of Christmas.
Integral to the Christmas story is the
presence of the three Magi at the time of
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Many scholars
are of the opinion that the Magi were
Zoroastrian priests — mobeds from the
western Iranian province of Media, from
where they perhaps get the name Magi.
Other scholars identify them as Zoroastrian
Parthian princes who, skilled in astronomy,
predicted that the time was ripe for the
coming of a Messiah and their journey to
Jerusalem was in effect in search of the
Saoshyant — the Zoroastrian Messiah.
According to Mary Boyce, in The Book of
Seth, a story is told of “how the Magi of
Persia had for generations been expecting a
star to appear; and how every year; 12 of
the most learned amongst them, versed in
the celestial mysteries, would ascend a
mountain which in their tongue they called
‘Victorious Mountain’. At last one year, the
star appeared, descending over that
mountain, having within it, the form of a
tiny boy. Led by it they made their way to
Judea (present day Israel).”
In Christian legends, the three Magi are
seen as kings who came from the East.
However, in the Gospel of the apostle
Matthew, who wrote a version of the New
Testament soon after Jesus’ death, he
refers to them as the Three Magi. This is
interesting as it is believed that at the time
of writing the Gospel, Matthew was living
in Antioch (present day Turkey), where it
is known that a large community of Magi
was settled. Matthew’s interest, according
to Professor Hinnells, in calling the three
wise men by the term Magi, was political
as he wanted to show that even the priests
of the great religion Zoroastrianism had
come to pay homage to the baby Jesus.
While there is dispute about where the
Magi came from, there is no dispute about
the fact that they were Iranian Zoroastrian
The BPP Review 36 December 2010
priests who, seeing an incredibly bright star
in the skies, thought that it would lead
them to the Zoroastrian Saoshyant.
According to legend, at the time of
Jesus’ birth there was a supernatural
phenomenon, which led to a rare triple
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which
took place around circa 6th-7th CE and this
gave rise to the appearance of a star that
suddenly increased in brightness and this
was identified as the Christmas star.
The Iranian Festival of Yalda
In Iran, December 21, marks the
beginning of the feast of Yalda, celebrated
by the Iranians as the longest night of the
year, after which the days grow longer.
Thus, the festival of Yalda celebrated the
end of the long dark nights and the
increasing brightness of the sun in the days
to follow, symbolising in it the victory of
Need to know
Traditional Zoroastrian names for the three Magi
The popularly recognised names of
the three Magi, since the seventh
century, in Western Europe are
Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
But Syrian Christians call them
Larvandad, Hormisdas and
Gushnasaph. These names are of
Zoroastrian Iranian origin. The first
name Larvandad is a combination
of Lar, which is a region near Tehran
and vand or vandad which is a
common suffix in Middle Persian
meaning ‘related to’ or ‘located in’.
Vand is also present in the names of
such Iranian locations as Damavand,
Nehavand and such names and titles
as Varjavand and Vendidad. The suffix
of ‘dad’ can also be seen in Iranian
names such as ‘Khordad’ and ‘Mehrdad’.
Thus, the name simply means born in or
associated with the region of Lar.
The second name, Hormisdas, is a
variation of the Persian name Hormoz,
which was Hormazd and Hormazda
in Middle Persian. The name refers to
‘Ahuramazda’ or ‘Ohrmazd’ the Lord of
Wisdom and the first day of each month
is dedicated to Hormazd.
The third name Gushnasaph was
a common name used in Old and
Middle Persian. In Modern Persian, it is
Gushnasp or Gushtasp. The name is a
combination of Gushn meaning ‘full of
manly qualities, desire or energy’ and
Asp which in Avestan means horse.
Horses were of great importance for
the Iranians and many Iranian names,
including those commonly used
today, Lohrasp, Jamasp and Gushtasp
contains the suffix, ‘asp’. Therefore
Gushnasaph could have meant
‘Owner of many virile horses.’
But even today the motif of the
three Persian Magi bearing gifts of
myrrh, gold and frankincense to baby
Jesus remains an enduring Christmas
motif and its Zoroastrian Iranian
antecedents have been forgotten.
light over darkness and consequently the
triumph of good over evil.
On this day, the Iranian Zoroastrians
place freshly cut branches of the ever
green Cypress tree all around the house (in
a fashion similar to Christmas trees) and
people get together for a family reunion,
which is celebrated with good food, music
and dancing. Fires are kept glowing
throughout the night and lights are kept
burning to help the sun in its battle against
darkness. It is this ancient Iranian festival,
so deeply embedded in the Iranian
psyche, which the Roman Christians later
adapted as Christmas. As such, it may be
more appropriate if our Parsi Irani
Zoroastrians celebrated the festival of
Yalda rather than Christmas!