No. Most of the evidence in the story, for example, shepherds out in the fields with their flock, instead of indoors, points to late summer. There was a definite decision in the early church to move the celebration of Christ’s birth to the Winter solstice, it’s just a better time – everyone was ready to party, and not work, because of day length and it allows pagans to transfer their traditions and rituals from their faith to the new one. It’s not something early Christian leaders were embarrassed or ashamed about, just a good idea at the time.
Oops, looks like wikipedia doesn’t confirm what I said, and points to the info coming out of the 18th century research. Hmmm. Sorry I don’t have a specific citation. But still: Jesus, born in Winter, no.
Well, the Shepherds played the Scriptural role of the first witnesses to Jesus –
“A whole chorus of angels? Announcing the Messiah? And a star moving around like Tinkerbell? Are you shepherds sure you didn’t get drunk and make this stuff up?”
I’m probably dead wrong, but I thought that business of shepherds watching their flocks by night implied springtime, when lambs were being born and the flocks needed to be kept an eye on more.
‘Certain’ is used adjectivally. It’s use, although it may initially look archaic, is pretty much the same as in the modern phrase ‘a certain person said to me’. In other words, its intention is to definine a group (of shepherds), but in a very imprecise way.
It has nothing whatsoever about the shepherds being sure or unsure.
BTW, a quasi-factual post relative to the Nativity Story – the traditional image of shepherds, wise men, ox, ass, angels, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all gathered around the manger is likely totally invalid. Luke, after relating Mary’s story, tells the traditional birth-in-the-stable story, as far as the shepherds hearing the first Noel, going and worshipping the baby; Matthew focuses on Joseph’s motivations, and is the one with the Wise Men, who went to the house where they were staying – followed by the Flight into Egypt and Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents. Presumably the Wise Men came later, after Joseph found lodging besides the stable – which is the reason for the 12 Days of Christmas, 12th Night being the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, when Jesus is shown to the Wise Men bearing their gifts, they being Gentiles unlike the Shepherds. (The Jew/Gentile issue underlies the New Testament narrative and letters to a lot greater extent than we tend to notice at first glance.)
Actually, if rendered into non-inverted English, it would be:
We three kings are of (from) the Orient.
We travel afar bearing gifts – [passing by) field and fountain, moor (not Moor which would be anachronistic) and mountain, following that there star.
Before the Beatles took the popular music scene by storm, this version of the carol used to end with ‘Smoking a big cigar’ rather than ‘Following Ringo Starr’.
We must be glad that Ringo came along because ‘Smoking a big cigar’ really takes liberties with history, there being no evidence whatsoever that any of the Three Kings ever smoked a cigar in their lives.
Is there any month of the year when Israeli shepherds would not be in the fields with their sheep? Pretty much a year-round activity in the moderate climates.
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen
Snowballs hit him on the snout
Made it all uneven
Brightly shone his nose that night
Though the pain was cruel
When a doctor came in sight
Riding on a mu-u-el
