Luke 2.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
Jesus was probably born around Springtime in March and not today. There were no calendars hanging in the stable, indeed the Gregorian calendar arrived many years later. We are always told that He descended from the House of David. However according to Luke Chapter 2 above it was in fact Joseph that was. Mary His mother previously conceived in Immaculate conception was engaged to Joseph at the time and who was asked to accept that his wife was pregnant and not as a result of sleeping with another man. It took another Angel visitation to convince him but this he did. To truly qualify Jesus as root of Jesse ( King David’s father ) then Mary would needed to have been a cousin of David. This is possible but we are not told that though this is more plausible for these times and the need to save family face. Going away for the birth and then fleeing to Egypt for the first years was part of the face saving plan.
We know very little of Jesus’ first years , we hear of him at 12 then nothing for 18 years till His calling at 30 and 3 year Ministry before Crucifixion and Resurrection. 36 months approximately we know of Him then no more yet 2000 years later we are still celebrating Him..His birth , His life is your gift today if you want it. It is an unwrapped gift and there , freely available if you so wish to collect it. For some the gift may be collected later in life but it’s available at all times. The prophet Isaiah foretold His birth 750 years beforehand and in his 9th Chapter verses 6/7 in the book of His name we can read it. As for Joseph we hear virtually nothing about the man yet we need to remember him too today as he stepped up to the role of Dad.
Something to ponder today and a couple of scriptures worth reading at some point. It may be the gift that will change your life as it did mine when I opened it properly mid life and late. Jesus , there waiting for you all in good time and all for good.
Merry Christmas.
qbitblogger 
Thank you for your blog and all the others over the year, especially the recent ditties on Dickens.
I am pleased that you have found the ‘gift’ that has changed your life, but I would also invite you and your readers to ponder on the possibility that such a gift can come in many guises for different people. The problem with believing that there is only one true path that should be followed by all is that it can, but not inevitably, lead to intolerance and potentially persecution of others on different paths. We see this happening between religions throughout history and also today. It even happens and continues to happen within different versions of the same religions.
This isn’t the whole story of course, as much good has also come from people of religious faith . . . the Dalia Lama and Archbishop Tutu come to mind in this respect, whose warm and joyous friendship also demonstrates how spiritual understanding can be shared between people of very different religions. See ‘The Book of Joy’
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496453-the-book-of-joy
Going back to choosing this time of year to celebrate Christmas, as you probably know it was at least partly due to the winter solstice and traditional celebrations centred around the return of the light. I celebrated sunrise on solstice with a group of friends on a hill above our village. We don’t share a common belief, but we do share a sense of spirituality that transcends particular paths, and is about cultivating universal qualities such as love, compassion and kindness. And this brings to mind one of my thoughts that I’ve previously shared:
It’s not what you believe but how you behave that matters most.
And to this I would like to add a further festive reflection:
May you find and follow a path that leads you to the light within, and may you be able to share this with all around.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and your readers.
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