The Day After Christmas. Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus the morning after his birth and visit by the shepherds. Bethlehem in the 1st century was built on limestone hills, honeycombed with natural caves. Swipe to see a photo I took of one of the natural caves a few miles from Jerusalem. Shepherds commonly used these caves as livestock shelters, especially at night or in colder months. So when Scripture mentions a place for animals, it could easily have been a cave adapted into a stable. This is why the early church (Justin Martyr and later Origen) spoke of a cave tradition, not mystical, just practical geology. As for the manger, scholars point out it wasn’t a wooden feedbox like in Christmas plays, but most likely a stone or rock-hewn trough used to hold food and water for animals. Archaeologists have found many such troughs in Bethlehem-area caves and ancient homes. Luke’s wording focuses on the function, not the aesthetic. The point wasn’t the décor, it was the humility. The Greek ter...