[HaveHadEnough]

I always thought Christ was born when "there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."

In December, the flocks aren't in the field, they're in the fold.

[U S Army EOD]

My uneducated guess would be the Spring but the best guess would be when taxes were due that year. I believe that is why so many people were traveling or it could have been due to some other celebration that would explain why they were short of rooms at the inn.

[NYer]

In December, the flocks aren't in the field, they're in the fold.

As the writer notes:

There were attempts to calculate the day, but by the third century Christians realized this was impossible.

It's intriguing how, in contemporary society, we mark events by dates, whereas 2000 years ago, the emphasis was on "who" was Jesus Christ and not on "when" these events took place.

[Vicomte13]

Flocks are out year round in the Middle East. It's a land of palm trees, not killing cold.