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Show AND THEY WENT UP ... . There Was No Paved Highway For That First Christmas Trip There was no macadam high-, way leading from Nazareth to Bethlehem when Mary and Joseph undertook their memorable journey jour-ney nearly 2,000 years ago. As far as routes were concerned, concern-ed, there were three. The western route led along the sea-coast and through the plain of Sharon. This route was unpopular with pious folk like Mary and Joseph who shunned the heathen cities, rowdy travelers, etc., as much as possible. possi-ble. The shortest route, via the fruitful fruit-ful plains of Esdraelon into the mountains of Samaria and through Shechem and Bethel, was not very popular either. The road was to-erable, to-erable, but steep; however, ' the Jews had little use for the Samaritans, Sa-maritans, and vice versa. The Jordan route, which de scended into the Jordan valley and followed the river's east bank around Jericho, was favored by the majority of Galilean travelers who for one reason or another (the Passover, etc.) went down to Jerusalem at regular intervals and knew their way around as well as suburbanites know their way around modern metronolitan areas. If the Jordan route was a little round-about, it was fairly level and steeped in Jewish history, form the shadow of Mount Tabor where Saul in desperation sought his 'witch' of Endor, to the tomb a little before Bethelem where the first Joseph buried his beloved Rachel. It is fairly certain that Mary and Joseph did not choose the western route when they planned their very special journey. Wheth er they chose to go by way of Shechem and Bethel, or around the walled city of Jericho, may never be determined definately. But, the distance nearly 100 miles was, in any case, unrelenting unre-lenting and conquered only by persistent plodding. And when Mary was too tired to go another step, Joseph took the packs upon his own shoulders so that she might ride the little donkey which trudged faithfully at his side. Verily indeed, did Mary appreciate appre-ciate the shelter of the stables that night no one could have been more grateful or more happy than Mary. And she brought forth her first-born son, and laid him in a manger. |