The Star of Nativity

Stars occupy a very important place in the history of homo sapiens. Although Whitman claims, "I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars", people in various ages have always believed in the maxim : "The stars rule men, but God rules the stars". Stars indeed have haunted the imagination of saints and seers from time immemorial. To many, stars have been symbols of high ideals and great hopes. Poets have eulogized stars in their poems, patriots have depicted starts on their flags, stars in songs have provided inspiration to the tormented souls of the lovers and the imprisoned.
For thousands of years stars have also been used as religious symbols. The ancient Babylonians believed that the stars and the gods were closely related. Ancient writings testify to the fact that the Chinese used to worship the constellations and the whole heavens. The Black-foot Indians of North America believed that every star was a human being. When a person died his spirit rose to the heavens to become a star. From the days of yore, the six-pointed star of Shield of David has been a symbol of Jewish faith. But it is the Star of Nativity or the Star of Bethlehem, the symbol of the Christian religion, which has the unique distinction of attracting the attention of people both in the realm of science and in the world of religion.
The Star of Nativity is that unique star following the light of which three wise men found Jesus in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. The Christmas Story, as told in the Bible, describes how the wise men from the East followed a bright star to the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. A silver star in the great cathedral in the village has the simple inscription : "Here, of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was born". And each year, thousands of Christians make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem on Christmas Day and the Silver Star reminds them of the unique Star of Bethlehem which guided the three wise men on the first Christmas Day.
More than two thousand years have shaded themselves with the past since Jesus was born, but the Star of Bethlehem still remains a mystery not only to the devoted followers of Christianity but also to historians and astronomers in this twenty-first century. It seems that the miraculous star was not just a divine apparition. Scientists in various corners of the world have been pouring over for years over all known documentation of a supposed number of recorded sightings of the period. As a result many a theory has been put forward. Some claim it to be a regular bright star, others opine in favour of an exploding Nova-Star or a comet. There are still others who advocate in favour of a conjunction of planets.
The only place where the three wise men are mentioned in the Bible is the Apostle according to St. Matthew. It is clearly mentioned that Jesus was born at Bethlehem at the time the three wise men following a star came from the East looking for the newborn King of the Jews. The Star of Bethlehem is shown clearly in famous paintings like Phillipe Lippi's in Florence or Jerome Bosch's in the Madrid Prado. But scientists tried to find proof of the existence of the BRIGHT OBJECT in the sky both historically and astronomically.
Was Venus the Star of Bethlehem? "Almost certainly not", says the renowned astronomer Nigel Henbest. "Venus makes such regular appearances as the 'Morning Star' and the 'Evening star' that people observing the heavens even thousands of years ago would have been familiar with it. The Christmas Star must have been a celestial event that was truly out-of-the-ordinary."
One hypothesis was that it could have been the famous Haley's Comet which returns towards Earth every seventy-six years. Another hypothesis claimed that it could be an exploding Nova-Star which normally produces unusual brilliance in the sky and overshadows even the Morning or the Evening Stars. A third hypothesis goes in favour of a rare triple conjunction of the planets. This happened when King Herod decided to massacre all children under two years of age in his attempt to kill the King of the Jews. But the British astronomer D.W. Hughes claimed in 1976 that his research and calculations clearly showed that this coming together of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7 B.C. i.e. seven years before the presumed birth year of Christ.

Syed Ashraf Ali is former DG of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh.