The Simple Christmas Story

The Santa story transformed from a dim memory of the real St. Nicholas who brought gifts to the poor into a fun-filled imaginative fairy tale Santa who flies around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, bringing gifts to everyone.

The Jesus story has also transformed from reality into a nostalgic warm nativity scene. Here’s the original story, told by Luke:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Despite artist renderings, no donkey appears in the story. Mary, in her last trimester, likely had to walk.

Setting aside Sunday school dramas, Mary and Joseph didn’t go knocking on doors only to be turned away time after time until someone finally gave them a place in the barn. The old King James Version 'There was no room for them in the inn' gave us moderns a picture of full motels and polite refusals from homeowners who had no room to spare for strangers. But it was based on a mistranslation—the word for “inn” was generic for any place a guest or traveler would use.

They went to Bethlehem because Joseph came from there. We can safely assume they stayed with relatives there. Mideast hospitality was so strong it’s hard to imagine anyone would have refused them. In simple first century homes families slept together in one room. Some houses had guest rooms for all the guests. If they were crowded, people would just move over and it would be more crowded.

The problem Mary apparently encountered was lack of space for her to have a baby, so…they used the manger for an infant bed. But they didn’t send them out to the “stable” or “barn”. Common 1^st century homes had space inside for their few animals. The animal area on a lower level, with family quarters on a raised level above—all under one roof. This kept the animals from intruding on the family’s space, and it kept the animals safe from predators at night. So Mary wrapped up her new born and placed him in the manger.

Luke describes humble beginnings for Jesus. For someone purported to be the Son of God, the long promised Messiah, a King, no less—what an unlikely, humble, beginning. What do you suppose Luke is trying to say to us by this?