Frankincense and Myrrh Today

Here’s a little “holiday” trivia for you…..

Did you know that Frankincense & Myrrh were once more valuable than Gold?

You don't have to be a biblical scholar to have heard the classic tale of the three wise men. As the story goes, three wise men from the East, traveled day and night, following the Star of Bethlehem. They carried with them three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the baby Jesus.

These gifts were very expensive during that time. Gold was valuable then as it is now, a precious metal. Frankincense was a perfume and spiritual incense, burned in temples throughout the East. Myrrh was a sacred anointing oil.

How did they become so valuable?

Frankincense and myrrh are both tree resins, or gummy sap that oozes from the bark of two different trees native to the Arabian Peninsula and Northeast Africa. Incisions are made in the bark of the tree during important times of year, and the sap pours out.

The sacred trees that produce Frankincense and Myrrh are almost impossible to grow outside of the Arabian Peninsula, which meant they were constantly in short supply and high demand. According to a famous Roman historian, the sap made the Arabians the richest people on earth by Jesus’s time, more valuable than gold.

Frankincense alone is responsible for creating the trade routes linking southern Arabia to India, the Mediterranean, and the Silk Road in China. 

Frankincense and Myrrh Today

Frankincense and myrrh are still used today in some ways that you might not expect. They're common ingredients in modern perfumes, deodorants, toothpaste, cosmetics and as a flavoring agent in some foods and drinks; continuing a tradition that has lasted thousands of years.

Noted over the years for their antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, the resins are often used in salves for wounds and sores, for indigestion, chronic coughs, and to embalm bodies.

Today, scientists are finding new uses for the substances as well; recent studies suggest that frankincense may be beneficial to sufferers of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, high cholesterol, anxiety, osteoarthritis and collagenous colitis. Researchers have also discovered possible benefits of myrrh in the treatment of gastric ulcers, tumors and parasites.

I hope you enjoy these sweet days of Christmas. May you have Happy Holidays!!!!!

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