Birth of Jesus

Background

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus of Nazareth is born in Bethlehem in the time of King Herod the Great. The exact year cannot be established: most historians place the birth between about 6 and 4 BCE, because most scholars hold that Herod died in 4 BCE, while the later era reckoning of Dionysius Exiguus (525) counts from year 1. The day is unknown as well: 25 December is a later liturgical tradition. The birth narratives differ from one another (such as the census in Luke, and the magi and the flight to Egypt in Matthew) and historians also read them as theological narrative; some doubt that Bethlehem was the historical birthplace. In Christian tradition the birth marks the incarnation of God. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, founded in the 4th century under Emperor Constantine, has been a World Heritage Site since 2012.

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Sources: Wikipedia: Date of birth of Jesus · UNESCO: Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem