The Messiah’s birth would be accompanied by heavenly signs—similar, but different signs—in both the Old World and the New. Samuel announced signs for both the birth and death. They form contrasting parallels: light at the birth versus darkness at the death: “But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead” (Hel. 14:20). Thus, dramatic light/darkness accompanied the birth/death. For the New World, the heavens themselves would announce the divine events.
While light accompanies the Atoning Messiah’s birth in the New World, apparently it took only the form of the new star in the Old World. If a day, a night, and a day of light had occurred in the Old World, the evangelists who noted other signs and miracles of Christ’s birth would surely have made it part of the record. We must therefore assume that the lighted night was a New World phenomenon, not a worldwide one.
Nibley suggests that the light was due to a supernova, similar to the explosion forming what is known today as the Crab Nebula. This supernova, which occurred in 1054, “could be seen all over the world. It was almost as bright as the sun.” A bright new star would be a good explanation for the Old World phenomenon, but there is still the issue of the differentially described phenomena for the Old and New Worlds. The descriptions point to different underlying events that are described in a similar context.
A second possibility has no supporting evidence except for its possible literary parallels. The prophesied darkness at Jesus’s death is described in terms that fit a violent volcanic event. (See commentary accompanying 3 Nephi 8:6.) Possibly in Mesoamerica, where volcanism is common, then both the birth and death may have been signaled by volcanic activity, with the first providing light in the night sky and the second emitting light-blocking clouds of particulate matter. Such a parallel would fit the light/dark pairing and would also have been a significant cultural event for any Mesoamerican people. Furthermore, because it was a natural event, unbelievers could explain it away, as they apparently did during the day, night, and day of light (3 Ne. 2:1).