Xmas commemorates the Birth of Jesus. The fullest Bible account of this is found in Luke 2: 1-20. Verses 1-7 describe the events leading to Jesus' birth;

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

The census was used to gather information regarding eligibilty for service in the Roman Army and for taxation purposes. Records on Egyptian papyri suggest that it was part of an Empire-wide enrolment that occurred every 14 years. Quirinius was in office for two terms, 6-4 BC and 6-9 AD. The census referred to in Luke was during the first term. (For an explanation of why Jesus' birthdate is calculated to be around 5 BC, see Date of Xmas.)

Mary also had to enrol for the census because in Syria, the Roman province in which Palestine was located, women of 12 years and older were required to register for payment of poll tax. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem would have taken at least 3 days on foot.

The manger that Jesus was laid in was a feeding trough for animals and this is the only indication that the birth was in a stable. Early traditions suggest that the birthplace was a cave that was used as a stable.

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