Adoration of the Magi by Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337). The Star of Bethlehem is shown as a comet above the child. Giotto witnessed an appearance of Halley's Comet in 1301.

The Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, is a star in the Bible and Christian tradition that let the Magi know that Jesus was born, and later helped them go to Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the star made the magi travel to Jerusalem. There they met King Herod of Judea, and asked where the king of the Jews had been born. Herod's advisors said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a nearby village, because of a prophecy in the Book of Micah. While the magi were going to Bethlehem, they saw the star again. The star stopped above the place where Jesus was born. There, the magi saw Jesus with his mother, worshipped him and gave costly presents to him. They then returned to their "own country".