Be the first to comment!Adoration of the Magi closes Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem Nativity Village
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The sixth edition of the Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem Nativity Village came to a triumphant close this evening with the traditional Adoration of the Magi – Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, who paid homage to the Baby Jesus, offering him gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
They were welcomed at the Nativity Village by the Minister for Gozo Dr Anton Refalo, and large crowds of people lined the route through the village to the Holy Family.
The voyage of the Three Magi to Gozo started from Cologne in Germany, where they had a symbolic send off from Cologne Cathedral, by the Archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, along with a choir of over 3,000 people.
They arrived in Malta from Brussels on Saturday afternoon, and this morning they started their journey to Gozo, they travelled from Mellieha in very windy conditions, to reach the Nativity Village this afternoon.
The ‘relics of the Magi’ were originally situated at Constantinople, but brought to Milan by Eustorgius I, the City’s Bishop, to whom they were entrusted by Emperor Constant in 344.
The relics of the Magi were taken from Milan by Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa and given to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel eight centuries later, in 1164, where they were place in a gold box. The Three Magi have since attracted a constant stream of pilgrims to Cologne.
This visit by the Magi to Gozo, was made possible through the collaboration of the Ministry for Gozo, the Christmas in Gozo Committee, the Local Councils of Ghajnsielem and Mellieha with the support of the MTA.
The Mellieha Local Council made the necessary contacts in Germany thanks to the twinning between the Councils of Mellieha and Adenau dating back to January 1996.
