This morning at church we had a short quiz about the Christmas story. It was relatively easy.

Woe to me! All my answers were WRONG!

I hate to admit this because everyone knows I’m a pastor’s kid and I SHOULD know this. But, yes, the sad thing is, my Christmas story knowledge ended in Sunday School, maybe around 6th grade.

So what I know is the traditional story which most of us grew up knowing.

We’ve read it in story books, watched it in movies, saw it on stage plays and heard it in songs.

The events surrounding Jesus’ birth have been told and retold in so many ways that most people, including me, have a distorted view of the true events.

So what really happened in Bethlehem?

We go back to the most reliable and accurate record, the Bible itself.

The correct answers to the quiz above are all letter C.

We don’t know when exactly did Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem. There was no local inn (explanation later). There was no mention of an innkeeper. Jesus was most probably born in a typical Jewish home.

It is disturbing to discover that much of what we have been taught about the Christmas season seems to be more tradition than truth.

More of this on the next post.