Every ten years the United States takes a census.  A census is a record of all the people who live here.  Today, people send in forms through the mail or someone comes to their home to gather the information.

Long ago in the Roman Empire, things were done differently.  People were expected to go back to their family's hometown and appear before the census taker.  Joseph and his fiancé Mary lived in a town called Nazareth in Galilee, but his family's home was originally in Bethlehem in Judea.  So when the ruler in Rome, Caesar Augustus, decided to take a census, Joseph and his wife Mary had to return to Bethlehem.

It was a long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Mary, who was pregnant, rode on a donkey led by Joseph.  When they finally reached Bethlehem, there were so many people who had come to be counted in the census that there weren't any rooms left for them to rent.  Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable.

Mary gave birth to her first son, Jesus, in the stable.  She wrapped him in rags and used the straw-filled manger as a crib for him. 

In a humble stable, Christ the Lord was born!