Customer Reviews

Gifts of the Magi: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The perfect accompaniment to celebrations of Epiphany! This exquisite little book, illustrated with masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval and Renaissance collections, tells the history and lore of the Magi and the precious gifts they brought to the infant Jesus. The beautiful samples of real gold, frankincense, and myrrh are treasures your children might add to the family creche with appropriate ceremony.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone familiar with the story of the "three wise men" and the birth of Jesus. Although it is very short, it is packed full of facts, using the Bible and other history information for support. The book also touches on some of the myths and legends behind the story and gives their resources as well. What I believe to be the main theme of the book, and, quite possibly, the most important, is at the end of the book when the author tells us exactly what the three gifts represent. In a nutshell, Gold is for Kings, Frankincense is for a God, and Myrrh is for man. Thus, the Holy Trinity!

This book comes with small samples of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, which have a special blessing in the Catholic 'Rituale Romanum' for the feast of the Epiphany, the feast of the arrival of the three Magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Baltassar) at Christ's crib. This boxed set is perfect for the blessing of the three gifts, which can be combined with the special Epiphany blessing of houses, since the priest can use the Frankincense for incense during the house blessing. Part of the blessing states "From the East the Magi came to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their teasures, they offered costly gifts: gold to the great King, incense to the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial. Alleluia."
A perfect, usable gift that can be kept alongside the family Nativity scene for years to come.

This is a beautifully packaged product. I bought one for a gift, and when it arrived I absolutely loved it. So, I ordered another one for myself! The samples of gold, frankinscence and myrrh are very tiny. It is enough that you can examine/smell/experience them, but I did not have to worry about giving it to a friend that was taking an international flight. It is a great gift for those who need to travel; it won't take up too much baggage space. Personally, I think that celebrating the 12 days of Christmas, culminating with the three kings/epiphany, helps to keep the family more focused on what Christmas is really all about. This product is one way to do that, and make a smooth transition into the new year.

I display the book on a small plate stand and have placed the three gifts in a glass box next to it.
EVERYONE TRIES TO STEAL THIS FROM ME AT CHRISTMAS AND TALKS ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY LIKE IT!
Great gift!

My son had been asking for this for months. It is for sale in our small church store. Everytime he would see it, he would ask. I decided to buy it for him for Christmas this year. It really is a very nice book, a lot of info in a small amount of space. To get the gifts that were presented to Christ, our God, is also very special. The whole family will come to treasure this book and gifts more and more as we use it by our small Nativity Scene each Christmas.

It was a helpful little book. Simple and to the point.

The product description claims that small packages of gold, frankincense and myrrh are included with this paperback. The packages are not included and the book is a small hardback.