It's early winter in Judea. The skies are clear, the air is crisp, there is a dusting of snow on the hills around Bethlehem. The hotels are crowded with travelers in town for the big census taking. An old man and his new young wife arrive in town, her on the back of a donkey and very pregnant. She's going into labor, and he needs to find a place for them to stay. But every hotel is full. Finally, one compassionate hotel manager decides to let them stay in the barn.
Joseph helps Mary into a stall filled with fresh hay, where she gives birth to Jesus. And after they wrap him in some old rags, they place him in the feeding trough to sleep. The cattle are lowing, the sheep and donkey are watching, the chickens are clucking in their roosts.
Meanwhile, out on the snow-dusted hills, a group of shepherds are sitting around with their sheep and an angel appears, sending them to look for the Messiah, who has been born in a barn. And as they arrive, three well-dressed kings on camels following a star reach the barn at the same time. And they all go in and worship at the feeding trough.
That was the Christmas story, basically as I heard it and imagined it growing up. Unfortunately, very little of it is factual. Starting with this. Jesus wasn't born in a barn.
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