When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

Matthew, Chapter 2:1,3

So who are these men and what is Frankincense and Myrrh? And why did they bring these gift along with gold?

The Magi were most likely the Magoi, a sacred caste of the Medes. They provided Priest for Persia. The word Magoi often has the meaning of the word Magician in both the Old and New Testament, though this is not the common interpretation. The Magoi belong to the religion Zoroaster, and magic was strictly forbidden. The Magi were not Kings, despite often being referred to as "Three Kings of Orient" However, Psalm 72 for tells their coming and says they were sent by Kings:

May he rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.
May his foes kneel before him, his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.
May all kings bow before him, all nations serve him.
For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help.
He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.

The most appropriate term in English is "Wise Men", even though they are often referred to as Astrologers. Astrology in the time of Christ was not the same as it is today. While it is true the stars were used as signs for upcoming events, and astrologers often interpreted dreams, the same astrology was used to tell when to plant crops and the interpretations of dreams was psychiatry in its infancy.

With that said, Who were they?

We don't know? Tradition has it, they came from Persia. Several names have been given to them. The three most common in the Roman Catholic Church are Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They arrive on January, 1, 6, and 11, respectively. Of course the Syrian church claims Larvandad, Hormisdas, Gushnasaph and others. We don't even know how many wise men were there! It could be as few as two or perhaps 12 or more! The reason so many people settle on three wise men, is because three gifts were given; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We have no way of knowing if other gifts not mentioned, were also brought, and we have no way of knowing if more than one person gave gold, or if one person gave two gifts. What we know is there was more than one magus, and that at least three gifts were given!

So we know they came from the East, when did they come?

They weren't there the night Jesus was born! In deed one reason why Luke may not mention them, is they may have shown up as much as one or two years later! What we know for sure, is Jesus was circumcised before they arrived. and Herod was still alive and in Jerusalem. The Magi came from Persia, a distant land from Palestine. In fact they traveled an estimated 1,200 miles over barren deserts, most likely by camel, most likely in a caravan, as would have been the method in those times. Either they began their journey well before the birth of Jesus or they arrived well after the birth. From scripture we know that it was after Christ was presented at the temple and we also know it was less than two years after Jesus was born. Why? Because Matthew tell us:

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

Of course by the time, the slaughter of the innocents takes place, Jesus has already been taken to Egypt by Joseph and Mary.

There is no mention of the Magi in Luke's Gospel and that may be because Luke only focused on the birth, and presentation of our Lord at the Temple. Luke tell us that Jesus returned to Nazareth, which would make sense, as the Holy family only came to Bethlehem for the census and then returned to Nazareth. However, by the time the wise men arrive, Mary and Jesus are in Bethlehem, but now in a home and not a stable!

For whatever reason, Joseph and his family leave Nazareth once more for Bethlehem. Remember Joseph's ancestors came from Bethlehem. Joseph was a carpenter, and as such, it is likely he would move to where the work was. After the visit of the Magi, perhaps as much as one or two years after the birth of Christ, he is warned by an angel, flees to Egypt and later returns to Judea. But he is still fearful of Bethlehem so he instead settles in Nazareth.

But this means the Magi were not at the Nativity?

Not at all! They are still an important part about the birth of Christ. as such there is no reason not to represent them in a nativity scene. What is important to remember is that their coming is marked by the Epiphany of the Lord, the second Sunday after Christmas (around January 6).

You still didn't explain the gifts.

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh were three very expensive gifts in the time of Jesus. We all know that gold was and is a precious and valuable metal.

Frankincense should not be confounded with incense, which confusion has been made in several passages of the English Bibles. Incense was a mixture of frankincense and other spices. Arabian frankincense, the frankincense par excellence, is the aromatical resin of Boswellia sacra, a tree which grows in southern Arabia; B. papyrifera of Abyssinia yields African frankincense, which is also good.

Myrrh translates from two Hebrew words: (1) Mor (cf. Arab. morr), the aromatic resin produced by Balsamodendron myrrha, (2) Nees, which grows in Arabia and subtropical east Africa. Myrrh was extensively used among the ancients, not only as a perfume but also for embalming, and as an anodyne (pain killer)

All were difficult to come by in the time of Jesus. All tree gifts would have been great gifts for a newly born king.