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The Angel Gabriel
In the town of Nazareth, in the north
of Israel, (in a district called Galilee)
there lived a girl called Mary who was
going to be married soon to a carpenter
called Joseph. One day, while she was
going about her normal jobs, she noticed
a stranger standing in front of her. He
told her that his name was Gabriel and
he was a messenger from God. He also said
that she was going to have a very special
baby who was God's own son.
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The Census
Not long after Mary fell pregnant, the Roman
Emperor, Augustus, issued an order. Everyone
in the whole of the Roman Empire was to
go to his or her hometown and be registered.
Augustus wanted to know just how many people
lived within his empire, because he wanted
them to pay their taxes. This meant that
that for Mary and Joseph, they had to travel
all the way to Bethlehem, a long distance
of about 80 miles. |
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The Journey
Joseph left the journey as long as he could,
hoping that Mary would have had the baby
before they started, but eventually, he
realised that they had to go. Mary was so
heavy now that she couldn't walk very far,
certainly not 80 miles, and had to ride
on a donkey. |
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Arriving in Bethlehem
By the time they arrived in Bethlehem,
all the inns were full as many people
had returned to the town to register.
One innkeeper felt so sorry for Mary,
that he suggested a stable at the back
of his inn. As it was winter, all the
animals were in the stable, but at least
Mary would not have to sleep outside.
That night Mary had her baby.
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The Shepherds
On the hillside that night, some shepherds
were watching their sheep. It was a very
quiet night, when suddenly there was a blaze
of light, so bright that they had to shield
their eyes. It was an angel come to tell
them about God's promised King. He had been
born that night and was lying in a manger.
The shepherds decided to go and see him.
They found the baby in the manger and knew
that what the angels said were true. |
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The Wise Men
Far away to the East, 3 wise men had been
following a bright new star, which they
knew would lead them to a new King. As
they arrived in Jerusalem, they asked
where they could find the new King. The
Romans had appointed a man called Herod
to be King of the Jews, and he was very
alarmed when he heard there was a new
King. He told the wise men to find the
King and come back and tell him all about
it.
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The Gifts
So the wise men continued on to Bethlehem
and found the baby with his mother Mary.
They had brought some wonderful and strange
gifts for him. The first present was gold,
because he was a King. The second was frankincense,
a sweet smelling substance burned in temples,
because he was going to be a priest, and
the final present was a spicy ointment called
Myrrh, used for embalming, because they
also could foretell his death.
They avoided going back by way of Jerusalem
and didn't tell Herod what they had found. |
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The Flight
When Herod realised that he had been tricked,
he was furious and ordered every boy baby
under 2 years old to be killed. Joseph
and Mary decided that they couldn't go
back to Nazareth safely and instead fled
south across the desert into Egypt, where
they stayed until Herod died. Only then
did they return home.
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