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I don't want to plagiarize, but there is a very good Catholic article on this here. In summary, the significance of swaddling clothes lies both in the fact that it is humble, common, ordinary, and also that it ties to Solomon - specifically the Wisdom of Solomon 7, 3-6. 7:3 And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, ...

It is prophesied by Micah 5:2. Perhaps you're wondering why Micah would prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem in the first place. Well, "Bethlehem" is from the Hebrew בית לחם (beit-lechem), which literally means "House of Bread." The Messiah is the "bread of life" (John 6:35). I say, what better city for him to be born? And Yeshu'a said ...

The following is highly speculative but (I think) not entirely unreasonable. Shepherds might be considered lower class and were likely grubbier than those in other occupations, especially given that these were night-shepherds in the fields (when all the "decent" folk would be sleeping at home). By announcing the message to isolated shepherds, the privilege ...

According to Fredrick A. Larson, this so-called 'Star of Bethlehem' is actually the planet Jupiter. He produced a video documentary called (appropriately enough) "The Star of Bethlehem" that can be found on YouTube (link) and his website. In this video documentary, Rick Larson lays out a detailed case for the Star of Bethlehem being Jupiter, which includes ...

The Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal Gospel probably written about AD 145, Says that Joseph used a donkey to bring Mary to Bethlehem The day of the Lord shall itself bring it to pass as the Lord will. And he saddled the ass, and set her upon it; and his son led it, and Joseph followed. Protoevangelium of James:17 So we know that from very ...

As we read the Nativity Story, (esp Luke 2: 7-20) Ponder the questions? Why did the angels go to the shepherds first? Why are swaddling clothes twice mentioned, "And this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." I gave a talk a week ago, on the shepherd seeking the lost sheep, when I found the ...

It's just what people do with newborns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaddling We found that wrapping our children with slightly stretchy fabric blankets when they were infants tended to comfort them and help them sleep better than when their limbs would flail about.

There's no way to answer this definitively: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem There are probably several astrological events that could construe "a rising star" to the ancients, but there's no natural phenomenon that would fit a literal reading of verse 9. I personally find this part of the story symbolic. It's also interesting to note that ...

In Psalm 23, David, the shepherd king, proclaims, "The Lord is my Shepherd." In doing so, David implicitly ascribes to God the title of "The Shepherd's Shepherd" or "The Shepherd of Shepherd's". Elsewhere, God is called the "King of Kings" and "Lord of Lords". Thus, it was wholly fitting that when God, the Shepherd of Shepherds, became a Man and was ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem The Hebrew Bible identifies Bethlehem as the city David was from and the location where he was crowned as the king of Israel. It never occurred to me before, but given that Bethlehem was pivotal in David's history, one could say that any great descendant of his came "from" Bethlehem. It seems awfully literal to ...