The Journey of the Magi

Every year Christmas seems to appear ever earlier in the shops whilst department stores compete to create the best TV advert to persuade customers of their sincerity and tempt us with their food and gifts.

Highclere also has a plan each Christmas and this year we have been inspired by the journey of the Three Wise Men. All the decorations, colours and themes in the main state rooms and the tea rooms are reflecting the traditions of this well-known Christmas story.

“All this was a long time ago, I remember,” wrote TS Eliot in the poem ‘The Magi’: such

“a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter”

One of the most familiar carols, “We Three Kings of Orient Are” reminds us of the both the gifts and the light:

“We Three Kings of Orient are;
bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star.

Refrain:

O star of wonder, star of light,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light.”

Stars and a few UFO’s for fun!

The Three Wise Men were distinguished emissaries who followed a star in the east to find Jesus after his birth. They brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and were called Magi which suggest they were astrologers.

They have become known most commonly as Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar. Paintings by artists such as Botticelli, Rubens and Hieronymus Bosch have cemented the image of them as three kings from faraway lands: Balthasar as a King of Ethiopia or sometimes Arabia, Melchior as a King of Persia and Caspar as a King of India.

As you enter the Library you will find its inspiration from Balthasar who is often shown wrapped in a purple cloak. He gave the gift of myrrh to Jesus, an expensive sacred oil which symbolised the future death of a king as it was used to anoint a body before burial.

The Music Room is all about gifts which is the bit that everyone loves about Christmas.

Walk into the Drawing Room and you will find Caspar, a King of India traditionally portrayed with a reddish beard, who gave the gift of frankincense. Frankincense was traditionally burned in the temple as an offering to God therefore affirming that Jesus was no ordinary man.

The Smoking Room is inspired by Melchior, a King of Persia along with peacocks which became the symbols of the Persian throne. Melchior, apparently the oldest of the three Magi, bought gold.

Finally, the decorations in the Morning Room remind us they followed a star or possibly a comet.

The heart of the castle, the Saloon, reflects the gold and the opulence of the Orient whilst the Dining Room considers the journey undertaken by the Three Kings. The traditional date for the feast of the Three Kings is January 6 whilst the eve of the feast is celebrated as Twelfth night.

When the Magi arrived at the stable to find the tiny baby laid in a manager, they knelt down to pay homage and opened their treasure chests. They had however been warned in a dream not to return to King Herod in Jerusalem where they had originally enquired for the baby but to return to their own countries by a different route.

So, we will have gold and lights and stars and lanterns and maybe even a camel. A little bit of glamour and fun and magic to light the way to a magical Christmas for all of us.