O little town of Bethlehem

It's Christmas Eve. A recent poll in the UK by ICM for the Bible Society found that children and parents generally know the nativity stories about Jesus. The best known fact was that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2: 4). 98% of those polled knew this.

Here's the story of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, told by 21st century Palestinians of Bethlehem - thought provoking.


Comments

  1. Thanks for this Nancy. Sort of puts things in perspective doesn't it?
    Our cosy Western view of the birth of our Lord is such a very prettified and sanitized one.
    As one of the 'performers' said, "Mary was a very strong woman".
    Every blessing this Christmas and best wishes for 2013 to you.

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  2. Ray - I can get as sentimental as anyone else at Christmas, so a bit of a reality check helps to balance things. I've pre-scheduled to post a picture at 00.30 tomorrow morning, which shows an exhausted Mary and Joseph and a couple of midwives looking relieved and also tired! Having seen the wall in Bethlehem and learnt something of how hard life is there for Palestinians I can now not completely forget that at Christmas. Thanks for your encouraging posts on my blog over the last year or so. Have a peaceful and joyful Christmas and may 2013 be all it needs to be for you.

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  3. I loved a Christmas card sent by a friend that showed Mary hanging up the nappies to dry with the caption, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

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    1. And Mary would have had to wash them all by hand too!

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