According to the biblical accounts, an angel named Gabriel appeared to a virgin named Mary in Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, to announce she would miraculously conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit and name him Jesus. At the time, Mary was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, who was reassured by an angel in a dream not to be afraid to take her as his wife because the pregnancy was a divine gift.
Shortly before the birth, the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus ordered a census, requiring Joseph to travel with his pregnant wife from Nazareth to his ancestral city, Bethlehem, in Judea. Upon their arrival, they found no guest room or lodging available, and Mary gave birth in a humble stable. She wrapped the newborn in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, a feeding trough for animals.
The birth was announced by angels to local shepherds who were in the fields tending their flocks at night. The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem, found the baby as the angel had described, and spread the news, glorifying God.
This birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah, who would be born in Bethlehem and bring salvation from sin and death to all people.
