The immediate wonder of the signs of the birth have worn off. Since the signs of the birth of the Messiah indicated an event in another continent, there was no confirming action that the celestial signs had really meant anything. That made them easier to ignore. They had come, but they could be rationalized away because nothing had changed. There was no confirmation that this Messiah really had been born. For the unbelievers, the signs were reduced from significant manifestations to natural phenomena.