Look at this picture, below. This ancient house (in the background) in Bir Zeit [pronouce: beer zite] sits in disrepair, as do many of the houses in ancient Palestine. I took the picture on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2008. Bir Zeit is very close to Bethlehem where Jesus of Nazareth was born. Notice that there are 3 floors. The third floor is enclosed on top. This is very much like the house Jesus of Nazareth was born in. Christmas is in celebration of this event.
If you remember the story, there was no place for Mary to have her baby and so she and Joseph (her husband) stopped at a local inn or house and asked for a place to stay for the night. As you can see this is not like the Holiday Inn you see on the Interstate. It was very basic with no running water, electricity or indoor toilets. I don’t even think they had a microwave. 🙂 Continue reading