Heralding the season: Who are the Wise Men atop Great-West Life?
The well-known display has marked the start of the holiday season in Winnipeg since 1973
NOTE: This story was originally published on Dec. 25, 2016, before Great-West Lifeco consolidated its three Canadian life insurance companies into Canada Life
Atop a snowy roof just south of downtown Winnipeg is a symbol that has become a landmark in the city for generations — and we don't mean the Golden Boy.
The Three Wise Men, poised on camels atop the entrance to the Great-West Life Assurance Company on Osborne Street, have heralded the start of the holiday season since 1973.
For many, they are more symbolic of Christmastime in Winnipeg than the tree in the City Hall courtyard or the lights along Portage Avenue.
"We know that the display has become a tradition in the city," said Tim Oracheski, public relations director for Great-West Life.
The Three Wise Men were first displayed on the annex of the 60 Osborne St. building's north wing in 1973.
They were moved to the roof of the building's main entrance the following year, where they have appeared every holiday season since.
Like the Golden Boy, with whom they line up across Osborne, the Wise Men face north and are illuminated by a glowing light — a star in their case, a torch for the Golden Boy.
Also like the Golden Boy, the Wise Men stand exactly 14 feet (or 4.3 metres) tall. But that's where the similarities end.
The Golden Boy, which weighs 1,651 kilograms, was sculpted and cast in Paris and shipped to Canada before being placed atop the Legislative Building in 1919.
The Wise Men and their camels, each weighing 136 kilograms, are pure Winnipeggers, crafted from the sturdiest materials and acclimatized for the harshest elements.
Each year we hear from people who say the display evokes memories of their childhood.- Tim Oracheski, Great-West Life
Constructed of plywood, wire, Styrofoam and Silastic (a plastic-impregnated cloth which becomes rock-hard once it dries), they were built by Reimer Display Ltd. And they've lasted longer than the company, which is no longer in business.
In late November each year, a crane hoists the camels and their riders into place, and they are secured with sandbags and wires. It takes about six hours to position the display.
Up until last year, the same local company had installed and dismantled the display for Great-West since 1973. The laborious process is now done in-house by GWL.
When taken down early in the new year, the figures are wrapped in protective sheeting and stored securely in the GWL loading docks.
Oracheski did some digging through Great-West Life's archives and through the memories of longtime employees, but couldn't uncover the reason behind why the Three Wise Men, in particular, were chosen as the company's seasonal symbol.
The obscurity seems appropriate, considering the ambiguity of the characters themselves.
Who are the Wise Men, anyway?
Also known as the Three Kings or the Three Magi — Persian sages able to read the stars — they are first mentioned in the New Testament as a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth.
It is said they followed the Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, to Bethlehem and then to the manger where Jesus was born, presenting gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Despite being a staple in the nativity scenes of modern day, some accounts say the Wise Men visited the newly born king of the Jews in a house, not a stable. Still other accounts say there were 12 visitors, and they have been referred to in various religious texts as saints, scholars and kings.
Some traditions say the visit with Jesus happened on the same night as his birth, while others say it took place days later, a month later and in one case, up to two winters later.
There are also variations on the names. The most common are:
- Melchior — a Persian scholar or king.
- Caspar (alternatively, Gaspar, Jaspar, Jaspas, Gathaspa) — an Indian scholar or king of India.
- Balthazar — a Babylonian scholar or king of Arabia.
However, many Syrian Christians observe the names Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. Ethiopian Christianity refers to Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while Armenians call then Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.
Many different theories also exist around the meaning and symbolism of the gifts they carried. Myrrh is commonly used as an anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable.
Some theories say those are common offerings for a king, while others view them as having a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (which is also an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.
There are also scholars who have hypothesized the gifts were medicinal rather than precious material.