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b'This podcast episode examines the Christmas story as it traditionally gets told--but what do the scriptures actually say and not say about the birth of Christ and all the pieces of this familiar story? How do the Matthew and Luke accounts differ--even irreconcilably? What motives are behind the Gospel writers\\u2019 decisions to shape the stories the way they do? What about the Jesus\\u2019s place of birth and the reason the family was in Bethlehem (if they were)? Was there a great tax and registration? What about "no room at the inn," the manger, the star, the magi, the story of Herod killing all male infants under two years old? How did Christmas come to be held on December 25th? In this episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Kristine Haglund, Jared Anderson, and Zina Petersen explore all these questions plus lead a fascinating tour into other parts of the Christmas story. Why are only five women mentioned in the Gospels\\u2019 presentations of Jesus\\u2019s lineage--and why are the ones listed all women with "questionable" sexual pasts? What are the Twelve Days of Christmas? What is the "Immaculate Conception" and how does it affect theology about Mary and ideas about the Eucharist and other religious devotions? How has pagan history and ideas folded into the history of "Christmas" (not Jesus\\u2019s birth but the celebration of it)? The panel discusses solstices and equinoxes, meshing of calendaring systems, the link between carnivals and holy days, shepherds\\u2019 presents to the Christ child, a longstanding tradition of "ghost story" tie-ins with Christmas that Charles Dickens resurrected. Why was there a period of time in which Christmas was illegal? And much more! Perhaps most important, however, is how and why the panelists and others, knowing all that they know about what likely is and is not factual about traditional accounts, still celebrate Christmas, joyfully sing carols alongside those for whom the stories are less complicated, and experience this season as spiritually enriching?'