What is myrrh?

Search: myrrh

Why: On "Permission Slip" on 27bslash6:

I was actually in a Bible based play once and played the role of 'Annoyed about having to do this.' My scene involved offering a potplant, as nobody knew what Myrrh was, to a plastic baby Jesus then standing between 'I forgot my costume so am wearing the teachers poncho' and 'I don't feel very well'.

Answer: Dried tree sap! The most common sources are species of Balsamodendron and Commiphora trees, particularly the Commiphora myrrha, doy, which is native to Somalia and eastern Ethiopia. Mashed up, it is a reddy-brown resin. It has historically been used in perfumes and salves and as an additive to wine.

The name myrrh comes from murr or מר or mar or maror, which my fellow Chosen People will recognize as the Hebrew word for "bitter."

Source: WiseGeek

The More You Know: But why did those guys give it to the sweet baby Jesus?

Myrrh was a symbolically appropriate gift for the baby Jesus because it was used in embalming at the time. Therefore, while gold and frankincense symbolize the infant's royalty and divinity, respectively, myrrh makes reference to His future death.

Frankincense, PS, is also dried tree sap. It is collected from the Boswellia Thurifera of Somalia, Oman, and Yemen.