The story of the three wise men who traveled from the East to worship the newborn Jesus appears in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-12). The Magi bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Eliot is renowned for the number of literary and philosophical quotations and allusions that appear in his work. The first five lines of the poem are adapted from a sermon preached by Lancelot Andrewes, bishop of Winchester, on Christmas Day, 1622, before King James I in London: “A cold coming they had of it at this time of the year, just the worst time of the year to take a journey, and specially a long journey. The ways deep, the weather sharp, the days short, the sun farthest off, in ‘the very dead of winter’” (Andrewes, Lancelot. Christmas Day 1622.) Thus, in these opening lines the poem strikes the note that will continue almost throughout: the difficulty of the journey that the Magi undertake. The underlying theme is that spiritual rebirth, the transition from one faith to another, is not easy. It requires discipline, determination, and persistence, and maybe at some point it will be accompanied by doubt.