Add to that the census-type registration that swelled populations everywhere as everybody in Judea returned to their hometowns. Imagine if that happened here – everybody returning to Katherine who was born here. It’d be more crowded than dry season!

And then there’s presumably the animals whose feeding trough (which is what a manger is) Jesus was placed in - unless they were herded out of the way.

It may have been calm after Jesus was born, as the smelly shepherds made their visit.

Why does this matter? I want to suggest two reasons. This matters because the details matter. This is the difference between mythology and history. Christianity is built (and stands or falls) upon historical events and eyewitness reports. No serious scholar or historian doubts that Jesus was born and lived and died. And in that sense some carols and nativity scenes are less than helpful.

The second reason it matters is that if you accept that Jesus is a king – he is unlike any other. He wasn’t born in kingly circumstances, didn’t live that way, and certainly didn’t die that way. These details are no accident of history.

St Paul’s Anglican Church meets on Sundays at 9am with kids church. All welcome.