Behind all of the candy canes and hot chocolate lies the mysterious Christmas story from the Bible. Often depicted in today's world through the iconic nativity, which many now display in their homes. Most would probably say that the story is not mysterious, in that it came straight from the pages of the common Holy Bible, right? Well, with a little bit of digging, one might find that the Christ was not born how many think so.  
First, we begin our journey with the very beginning of the story. Mary is commonly depicted as mid-twenties to early-thirties. This is commonplace, most likely due to the nature that is today’s society: children are born to mothers who are around this age. However, Jesus was born to a mother who was most likely between the ages of 11-15. This is because of the cultural aspect of civilization at the time. Most often, teenagers were taken as brides, hence being that more mothers had their children in their teens.  
Moreover, renaissance phenomena, Michealangelo, was ridiculed for his depiction of Mary. Whilst he was a sculptor, Michelangelo created a sculpture of the virgin Mary holding Jesus, now displayed in a church in Italy. At the time, the creation was scoffed at by citizens, claiming that Michealangelo depicted the virgin Mary to be much too young. Although this was the case, Mike was simply following historical accuracies. 
While on the topic of the virgin Mary, one might come to find that she was not even a virgin, although her common title might lead many to think so. Although it was common practice for many people to marry off young virgin teens at a time, there is not substantial proof that Mary was a virgin. This is proved in the translation of the Biblical text (as many inaccuracies derive). In the original Hebrew text, the word “Almah” is used to describe Mary, which means, “of marriageable age.” However, when translated to Greek, means, “virgin.” Now we have a better story. This mistranslation has encapsulated many and is thought to have been used to further prove that Jesus was the Messiah, using the misinterpretation as a way to prove that His birth was a miracle.  
 
Next, we venture into the beginning of the Christmas story. It is often disputed as to whether Mary and Joseph left for Bethlehem in order to file taxes or not. At the time, under the reign of King Herod, and prior to 4 BC (Jesus was in fact born between 6-4 BC), Jews did not have to travel to their hometowns to file their taxes. Mary and Joseph would have been just fine having filed their taxes in Jerusalem. Jesus would have had to have been born post 4 BC, as that is when the law was decreed by Caeser Agustus, that Jews had to travel to their hometowns to file their taxes (this was the result of a Jewish revolt). This was most likely a mistake by whoever wrote the story down at a later time. It is a much more feasible idea that Mary and Joseph were simply traveling to see Joseph’s relatives who lived in Bethlehem at the time.  
Next in the story, is the tale of exactly where Jesus was born. It is commonplace to think that Jesus was born in a manger, in a stable, which belonged to an inn. However, only a third of this story is true. Jesus was in fact born in a manger; however, this manger was neither located in a stable, nor belonged to an inn. The word that was written in Greek for the story was translated as “inn,” when it more accurately translates to “place to stay.” This “place to stay” was most likely the home of Joseph’s relatives, as mentioned prior. This would make a lot more sense, considering that the baby had relatives in the area. Jesus was most likely not born in a stable, but in a family living room. It was commonplace to keep a manger in the living room (and other rooms, respectively) of the home so that animals who were abundant in the area might have food if they wander up to the house. This being said, it made the perfect bed for baby Jesus.  
Another common misconception that is becoming more well-known now is that there were not in fact three wisemen. Although there could have been three of them, it is up to debate. The story/Bible never clearly states whether there were three wisemen or not, the fact was simply assumed over the years, or someone came up with the number to fill the void of lost knowledge. Likewise, we have no idea what day of the year that Jesus was born. It is assumed to be December 25, as that is nine months post the date believed by early Christians to be the immaculate conception, March 25 (many also believe this day to be the date of the Crucifixion). Another theory, is that it was used because of the pagan holiday “Sol Invictus” (Conquered Sun) which also takes place on the twenty-fifth. However, there is little evidence to back this theory up.  
Finally, we come to the end of the story, where the “Massacre of the Innocents” occurs by the paranoid Herod. The “Massacre of the Innocents” is the tale of Herod killing all of the young boys that he could find under the age of two. Although this is the case in the Christmas story, it is very unlikely that this occurred on such a large scale. Although there is evidence that Herod was an evil man, based upon a secular account by a man named Flavius, it is more likely that Herod killed a few boys. The death of the boys could have been exaggerated as a result of the high mortality rate of young children at the time due to disease or natural causes.  
 
 
How the story (probably) actually happened: 
A young woman and her husband became pregnant with a son, and left Jerusalem for her husband’s hometown. While they were there, they were notified that their son was to be the Messiah. They had their child in a manger in the common room of Joseph’s relatives’ home and fled to Egypt after many had heard that the child was the Christ, which Herod was unhappy about. Shepherds and wise came to propose to the Child with gifts, as a result of his renown reputation to be the Messiah.