The Three Wisemen

Moon's Costume Blog

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Monday, December 21, 2009

If you’re doing a Christmas nativity play, even if it’s at home, you’ll need the three wisemen, also known as the Magi, or as the three kings. Type in the word “wiseman” in our search field and you’ll see a great selection of Christmas costumes for both adults and children.

Imagine the Christmas classic “We Three Kings” playing in the background as these costumes parade across a stage!

“We three kings of orient are bearing gifts, we traverse afar.

Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star!”

Wikipedia has a wealth of information about these figures if you want to know more, but they tell us that since the 8th century in the Western Christian church, the three wisemen have been commonly known as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. We just call them Wiseman I, Wiseman II and Wiseman III. But we also have a Blue Wiseman and a Wine Wiseman—you can see the children’s versions of the wine and blue wisemen accompanying Wiseman III in the photo above, who holds a gift bearing either gold, frankincense or myrrh…or perhaps a combination of all three.

Wikipedia goes on to explain:

“In contrast, the Syrian Christians name the Magi Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. These names have a far greater likelihood of being originally Persian, though that does not, of course, guarantee their authenticity.

“In the Eastern churches, Ethiopian Christianity, for instance, has Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while the Armenians have Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma. Many Chinese Christians believe that one of the magi came from China.”

We’ve also got some shepherds and a Mary costume to complete the Nativity cast list. Now all you need is a manger and a baby! Of course, you could also include farm animals that have been displaced by the visitors. Check out our team mascots section for a horse and a cow, a ram, even a reindeer for a festive twist.