Every year about this time, the media speculates about what the Star of Bethlehem may have been. Was it a comet? A supernova? A miracle? We'll likely never know for sure.
But there is another possibility. It could have been a literary device. The tradition in that area at that time held that the birth of an extraordinary person was heralded by some remarkable natural event-- an earthquake, a fierce storm, or a new star. The Gospels, of course, were written after Jesus' ministry, and meant to proclaim His unique nature. So, using the device of a star marking the birth would have been understood by the people of the time as a way to open an important story.
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