Regardless of when Christ was actually born (January? June? 4 A.D. (how does THAT work?)?) one thing's for sure: he played a mean banjo. Gibson honors His chicken-pickin' abilities with twelve, one-of-a-kind Gibson Christmas Banjos. That's right, only twelve of these beauties will be made, and it's a good thing the apostles are long gone 'cause you know they'd be first on the buyer's list otherwise. Well, eleven of them would (Judas was a ukulele-guy).

These gorgeous and highly coveted (Luke 12:15) collector's instruments are all handmade by Gibson's top luthiers, and feature holly-leaf and other seasonal renderings by resident artist Darron DuBose. Each of the twelve instruments will also feature a different holiday-themed inlay at the 12th fret. Just to clarify: not different holidays, different Christmas-themed inlays (Luke 16:13).

Gibson is very excited about these instruments, and according to their press release, they're not alone:

"If the rumblings amongst the bluegrass community are any indication, Gibson’s new Christmas Banjos are primed to become some of the most desirable new collectors’ items and investment pieces on the market."

If words alone don't whet your high-ticket-item-buyin'-whistle (Ecclesiastes 5:10), check out these sumptuous pics:

Of course, not everyone is as excited about these Banjos as they should be (and no, I'm not talking about hell-bound heathens). From the Gibson Christmas Banjo message board:

"K" :: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 7:49:15 AM
"What is Christmasy about this? Some holly? Where is the baby Jesus? Or for that matter Santa? Rudolph? How is the design on the back related to Christams? A snowflake? Darron DuBose is the resident artist? You reckon he knows what Christmas is about? Pretty cheesy.. that's my 'rumbling'...."

Good point, "K", but more importantly: (Mark 4:19)