…the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
— Luke 2:15-16

Interestingly, Jesus was actually born not in winter, in December, but at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths [Sukkot], which is celebrated at the beginning of autumn. Why at this feast in particular? Messianic Jews [Jews who believe in Jesus] have a complicated way of calculating Christ’s birth through Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and the book of Chronicles, which describes the order in which the priests served in the temple, as it fell to them by lot. [Luk.1:5,8-9; 1 Chr.24:3-5,10] But the Lord showed me a simpler way. He asked me: “Do you know that the Jews expect Elijah at Passover?” “Well, yes,” I answered. “But Elijah has already come,” He said. And then I remembered Jesus’ words in the Bible that John the Baptist is that Elijah whom the Jews expect at Passover. [Mat.11:14] So John the Baptist was born precisely at Passover, and the Lord exactly six months after him — at the Feast of Tabernacles.

The booths that the Jews build for the Feast of Tabernacles have a roof made of leafy branches, through which the sky can be seen. Why see the sky? To see the star in the sky, which was the sign of the Messiah’s birth. I believe that the wise men [the magi] who came from the east were descendants of the Jews carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, and that they saw the star in the sky during the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. The wise always seek the Lord’s presence, to worship. For when Solomon received wisdom from God, the first thing he did was to come to Jerusalem, where the ark of the covenant was — a type of Jesus — and offer burnt offerings. [1 Kgs.3:15]

Scripture says that when Jesus was born, Mary laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. It is also interesting that the word booth [sukkah] first appears in Genesis 33:17, which says that Jacob made booths for his livestock. Do you see the connection? It was in such a booth that Jesus was born, and it was such a booth [tabernacle] that David erected to place the ark of the covenant in, which, as I said, is a type of Jesus. [2 Sam.6:17] The tabernacle, or booth, of David is the place where there is only the Lord, and where He alone is worshipped, and nothing else. That is why David was a man after God’s heart: like the wise men, he sought the Lord’s presence.

P.S. Does this mean we won’t celebrate Christmas because Jesus was born in the autumn? Of course not. We’ll celebrate on January 7th too. After all, it’s another opportunity to remember and celebrate the birth of the Saviour. A merry Christmas to all!!!