What the Holidays MIght Have Been Like

Joseph and Mary had quite the extended family, an illustrious assortment of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces and nephews that might have gathered--like most Jewish families--for celebrating the holidays. For a Jewish family, this meant three annual trips to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

Of Joseph's family, perhaps his grandparents Matthat and Estha were still alive and dwelling in Bethlehem. His father Heli and unnamed mother probably lived in Nazareth, as did his brother Clopas Alphaeus.

Clopas had married "the other" Mary, sister to Joseph's wife Mary, and they were raising their children in Galilee: Matthew Levi, who would become a tax collector before following Jesus; James, who would also become an apostle; Simon, who would become bishop of the church at Jerusalem during the Roman siege; and Joseph. That they named their oldest son "Levi" is indicative that they were indeed Levitical in at least part of their ancestry.

Of Mary's family, her grandfather Matthan the High Priest was probably dead, but her parents Joachim and Anna were still alive. There was her uncle Joseph, the tin merchant from Arimathea. And her sisters--Mary and Salome. We may think it is odd, from our 21st Century American perspective, that two girls in one family might have the same name. However, 200 years ago it was common among my German Lutheran ancestors to name every child John and Mary, coupled with unique second (or what we call "middle") names. Or they could have used Jewish variations such as Miriam, Mariamne, or Mara, all of which are translated as Mary in our English Bibles. The gospels differentiate them by calling Jesus' aunt "the other Mary", "Mary the wife of Clopas", or "Mary the mother of James and Joseph".

Salome was likely the youngest of the three sisters, and may not have been married at the time of Jesus' birth. There are some old traditions about the birth that name Salome as being present. Later she would marry Zebedee, a fisherman from Capernaum, and they would have sons James and John, who would be among the original disciples of Jesus.

When the gospels first introduce young John, it is as a disciple of John the Baptist--son of his mother's cousin Elizabeth. The gospels also record that John was well known to the household of Caiaphas--the man who served as Israel's High Priest during Jesus' earthly ministry. One ancient source says of John that he wore the priest's mitre or turban in his youth, and the symbolism contained in The Revelation is very priestly and templar in meaning. Only the sons of priests could be trained as priests, so it is very likely that Zebedee himself was of the tribe of Levi.

And we must not forget Zacharias and Elizabeth, that priestly family from the Judean Hill Country and their infant son John, a priestly family with whom Mary had stayed during the early months of her pregnancy.

It was among this extended family that Jesus was about to make His grand entrance into the world.