Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem - coloring page

 Hi everyone!  Merry Christmas!  

I did this drawing on the evening of Christmas Day.  

Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem

Mary and her husband Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the Roman census.  Joseph was a descendant of King David.  So was Mary.  They had to return to the "City of David" or Bethlehem for the census.  The journey would not have been an easy one.  It is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Nazareth to Jerusalem.  The trip would have taken around a week.  

It is not just the distance.  Nazareth is by the Sea of Galilee and is at an elevation of only about 1138 feet (347 meters).  Bethlehem is at a much higher elevation.  Bethlehem is at an elevation of 2453 feet (775 meters).  

So Joseph and Mary had to travel very far and climb a total of 1315 feet or 428 meters.  Keep in mind that Mary was 9 months pregnant at the time.  I think that is why most historians think that Mary probably rode on a donkey for the trip.  Walking that far AND climbing that high would be very very difficult for a woman who was 9 months pregnant.  Perhaps Joseph owned a donkey or maybe he borrowed a donkey from a friend or family member.  

Based on what we know from the Bible, it appears that for a time AFTER Jesus' birth Joseph, Mary, and baby (and little boy) Jesus stayed and lived in Bethlehem.  Then, when  Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod would seek to kill Baby Jesus, Joseph was able to take off in the middle of the night with his family... to go to Egypt.  So maybe they took the same donkey.  On the other hand, he may have been able to use some of the treasure that the Wise Men provided to finance that journey.  

I think that Mary and Joseph were clearly amazing people.  

I drew this drawing from a Nativity that was done by my local ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  There were a couple of members... a couple... where the wife and husband were in costume as Mary and Joseph.  Mary was not on a donkey, she was on a Shetland Pony, but I kind of changed that.  (I gave the pony bigger ears.)  

This drawing, in printable form, can be found under two buttons. . . Religious . . .& . . . . Holidays.