Has the Christmas star ever reappeared since Jesus' birth?

Answer 1

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We have good records available for numerous celestial events in the first century CE and even earlier. At the time, astrologers and scribes in Rome, Persia, Palestine, and as far away as China, recorded every unusual celestial event, yet none recorded any star or other celestial body that could have been the star described in Matthew's Gospel. Luke's Gospel, although not a history book, does not mention any such star, although its author no doubt would have mentioned it had he known of any such star. So, historically we have no evidence of the first appearance of the Christmas star.

Historians know of a bright star (probably a supernova) that appeared suddenly in the 60s of the first century, some two decades before Matthew's Gospel was written. Although no star could really lead people to a town or house, it was certainly awe-inspiring enough to be regarded as a portent of important things to happen. It was seen by some as foreshadowing the death of Nero and by Josephus as evidence that the Roman general Vespasian was the hoped-for Jewish Messiah and that Vespasian would one day become emperor of Rome. Such a magnificent and awe-inspiring star could easily have inspired the author of Matthew to write his account of the magi following a bright star. So, although this was not a 'reappearance' of the star, it could arguably have been the real star of Matthew's Gospel.