So Jesus’ conception, not His birth occurred in mid December.
I have been reading more of what my friends from Isreal wrote, and it appears many of the details in the Bible that are hard to swallow are because we try to "Americanize" the actions.
If you talk to the Isrealites, they say a child is "born" when he is conceived: that would make sense, Jesus was conceived in winter, and his parents would have traveled to be taxed in the dry time of year. and that would put the Shepherd's in the field, in the time of the year when there would be grass (not snow or rain)
"when a child is born he is considered one year old until three months after his first birthday when he is considered two years old. (this is still a practice in some oriental cultures today)."
Luke 1:36
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
The beginning of Elizabeth’s sixth month would have been in December during the celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights. The conception of Jesus (the light of the world – John 8:12) would have taken place during Hanukkah. Incidentally, it was the custom in ancient Israel to count the years of one's age from the date of conception - in other words, when a child is born he is considered one year old until three months after his first birthday when he is considered two years old. (this is still a practice in some oriental cultures today).
So Jesus’ conception, not His birth occurred in mid December
