In five days we're going to celebrate Jesus' birthday! Many months before Jesus was born, God sent an angel to Mary. She was very surprised. Mary was even more surprised when she heard the angel's message from God! She must have been afraid, too, because Gabriel told her she didn't need to be.

When Mary hear the angel's message, she wondered what it meant. Gabriel explained that Mary was going to be the mother of God's very own Son, Jesus! Mary knew this wouldn't be easy because people wouldn't understand. But she told the angel that she would be God's servant. She would do whatever God wanted her to do.

Joseph heard that Mary was going to have a baby. He didn't know what to do because he wasn't the father. But God wanted Joseph to take care of baby Jesus. So God sent an angel in a dream. The angel said that Mary's baby came from the Holy Spirit of God. The angel said that it was OK for Joseph to let Mary be his wife. So he did!

Joseph and Mary lived in the town of Nazareth. But King David had been born in Bethlehem. He was one of Joseph's ancestors, a relative who had lived many years before. So Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to be counted. The trip seemed very long to Mary, who was going to have her baby soon.

Have you ever taken a trip? Maybe you stayed in a cabin or at your grandma's house or at a motel. In the town of Bethlehem there was an inn for travelers. It had many rooms, but the rooms were filled with people when Mary and Joseph came. The only place left for them to stay was a stable. That's where the animals stayed. So Mary and Joseph had to go where their donkey went!

Mary and Joseph were spending the night in a stable. They didn't get much sleep because that was the night when Jesus was born! Mary wrapped baby Jesus in strips of cloth, as all mothers did in Bible times. Then she laid him in a manger. This wooden box was where the animals usually ate hay. What an exciting night for everyone, including the animals!

Sheep were sleeping in a field near Bethlehem. Their shepherds thought it was an ordinary night. That was before the angel came! With bright light all around, the angel told the shepherds about baby Jesus, the Savior. Then more angels came, and they all praised God.

When the angels left, did the shepherds think they had just been dreaming? No! They knew that God had sent the angels and that a special baby had been born. So they hurried into town, found the baby, and told everyone about the angels. Then they went back to their sheep, praising God. They were so happy that they had found baby Jesus!

Some wise men lived far away from the place where Jesus was born. When they saw a new star, they knew that a king had been born. So they traveled to Jerusalem and talked to King Herod. He sent them to Bethlehem. Herod said to let him know when they found the king because he wanted to worship the new king too. But Herod was telling a lie. He really was jealous of the new king.

The wise men still didn't know exactly where they were going. So they were happy to see the star that they had been following again. It took them all the way to a house in Bethlehem. When they saw little Jesus there, they got down on their knees and worshiped him. They gave him gold and two kinds of very nice perfume.

When you travel, you might see a detour sign. That means you have to take a different road. Maybe a bridge is out, and you would be in danger if you kept going. Well, God knew there was danger ahead—not for the wise men, but for Jesus. King Herod wanted to hurt Jesus. God told the wise men not to go back to Jerusalem and see the king again. So the wise men found a different way to go back home.

No one in the Bible is more important than Jesus! That's the name the angel said to give him. It's a special name that means "Savior." Jesus came to be our Savior-to save us from our sins. When he was a month old, Mary and Joseph presented him to God at the temple. Jesus came from God, his heavenly Father. And as he grew up, he lived his life on earth for God.