Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A doll representing the infant Jesus in St. Catherine's, the Franciscan church in the town of Bethlehem. David Silverman/Getty ...

The exact date of Jesus's birth is unknown, though it is estimated to have been in the spring between 6 and 4 B.C. Christians began celebrating Christmas on December 25 in the 4th century, possibly to ...

Every Christmas, a storm of controversy ignites over the accurate date of Jesus’ birth. Fueled by sensationalist media and a public eager to speculate, these debates churn out myths and historical ...

In the last few decades, that knowledge has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and Santa Claus. Even the "comfort and joy" heralded is more about general feelings of ...

(RNS) — The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank. (RNS) — The ...

The Gospel according to Luke was not written by a witness to the birth of Jesus. St. Luke probably never even saw Jesus. Instead, he studied the written accounts of the birth and life of Jesus, ...

The Christmas story of a baby born in a manger is a familiar one. The Roman Empire, a police state in its own right, had ordered that a census be conducted. Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary traveled ...