We Three Kings Of Orient Are

Year: 1857

Written By: Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr

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We Three Kings of Orient Are also known as We Three Kings and The Quest of the Magi is a much loved and sung carol during the holidays. I think it reminds people of the lengths that the kings went to in order to get to our Lord and Savior on the day that he was born. It is a song of hope and giving and makes many wish that they could have made that trip with the Magi to give gifts to the baby Jesus.

We Three Kings was written by Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr. for the General Theological Seminary for a Christmas pageant that was going on in New York. It is rumored to have been written in 1857 but wasn't published until 1863 when it appeared in Reverend Hopkins Jr's Carols, Hymns, and Song. Hopkins is responsible for writing the lyrics and the music.

We Three Kings tells the story of the birth of Jesus and the trip that three kings made in order to bring him gifts. There is rumored that there were probably actually more than three kings who made the trip, as they liked to travel in large groups for protection and as a sign of their importance.

Only three of the gifts that were presented to Jesus were talked about in the song or the bible. Those were of course gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The first gift of gold was given to recognize Jesus as a king, the second gift of frankincense was given to symbolize his priest hood, and the third gift of myrrh told of his death as myrrh was used as an embalming fluid in those times. The Messiah, Prophet, Priest, and King were also represented by the three gifts.

The kings were said to be from Persia and followed the star of Bethlehem, which led them to the baby Jesus. The song to this day symbolizes exactly what Jesus did for us and many people are reminded of that by the song every holiday season.

We Three Kings of Orient Are has been sung in churches, choirs, on doorsteps and in cars for years during Christmas since its release. Some of the most notable artists to record We Three Kings include: Aly and AJ, The Beach Boys, Blondie, the Legendary Burl Ives, The Jonas Brothers and country music star Toby Keith. Too many to list have recorded the popular carol and it will live on forever.