Hi,
I agree that most of the artwork I've seen does depict diffraction spikes wherever the artist wants to emphasise that particular star in the artwork.
The possibilities are many it seems -
- much artwork we now see dates from after a time when the artist or someone else influential could have glanced through a reflector. Just a bland looking white dot on the canvas would not have been enough, and the artist could not have simply enlarged it to a disc, anyone looking up would have known that was unrealistic. Giotto painted a representation of the Star in about 1303 that is more like a comet, and he could have seen Halley's Comet in 1301.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem
- one of the earliest Christian signs is the Chi-Rho, found in the catacombs of Rome
http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/chi-rho.htm
Is this cross symbol likely to have translated to a depiction of the star?
- then again, what about translation to a heavenly representation of the simple Christian Cross on top of most churches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross
That explanation appeals most to me, as I look for something simple and rational first.
Cheers