It would be a lie if it ever purported to be historical. Which it does not, and probably could not be.
Sometimes spiritual imagery is cast out with the details. Should every illustration a preacher uses also be called a lie because it isn’t a literal recitation of something in the bible? Should we not understand how the entire creation, if not what the world has done with it, reflects the glory of God which glory (His, not the creation) deserves our fullest worship?
>> “Carol of the Drum”... written by the American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941.
As far as history goes...that ain’t very far.
If it’s not recorded in the Bible, where else would you look...The Bethlehem Post?