Replies

Some Biblical scholars think Jesus was probably born in the spring. This is due to references in the text to shepherds being in the fields with their flocks at the time of his birth. Apparently, this is not the normal practice during a typical winter in the Holy Land

I would think it would depend on the weather. Sheep are pretty hardy animals and don't really need to be brought in during winter, except during the harshest times, and even then they only need a windbreak. In many societies, the animals are brought in each night, although that's mostly the less hardy cattle. In any event, in most societies, unlike the case in the US and a few others, people would generally live in town, and go out to their farms and grazing areas each day, rather than living on the land is common in rural America. They'd often have community barns and would share the task of watching over the animals. Often it would be the younger people who would keep the animals, thus the term "Goose Girl" for example. Unless the weather was really bad, and often isn't in the Bethlehem area, I would expect the shepherds to be out tending the flocks at least until the more severe weather of January and February, and generally even then.

In the ranch country of the US, at least during the heyday of the "Old West" cowboys, the cattle would be left to their own resources for the winter. Thus the need for a "roundup" to recover and sort them out. (and also thus the need for branding them).

Being a city boy, I have no personal knowledge on the subject; simply reporting something I read during Bible studies some years ago.

During my enlisted days in the Marine Corps, I served with a Marine who had been a sheep herder in IIRC Montana or Wyoming prior to being drafted. Anyway, this ex-sheep herder was one of the toughest, most self-reliant men I have ever met. Good humored and very even tempered but also a very self-contained individual. Did his two years, made corporal and went back home.

(Note: This was the 1969-1971 time frame and while the Marine Corps didn't like it, it did draw from the Selective Service draft pool starting in 1967. I had one in my boot camp platoon. Poor guy was a green card resident alien from Mexico. He had the double misfortune of being drafted and then being selected for service in the Marine Corps. Of course, we volunteer Marines don't feel it was a misfortune but remember he was drafted and the US Army was 3-4 times larger than the Marine Corps at the time. A good bit of the Army never saw Vietnam. Just the opposite for the Marine Corps. But I digress. Anyway, he didn't really speak English but the DIs still had to turn him into a Marine. So they "volunteered" some of the smarter members of the platoon (including yours truly) to help him out academically. He passed his tests (without any foolishness I might add) and graduated with the platoon.)