Do you have a clue? My neighbor says that Bethlehem is in the desert and there was never snow there. I researched the historical maps, but I can't tell exactly where it was in Israel.
2007-12-12 06:37:26 · 13 answers · asked by Patricia B 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Bethlehem is about 6 miles to the south of Jerusalem and at an altitude of about 2400 feet above sea level.
There is no reason to place the story of Jesus' birth in December. The current Christmas festival was decided in the 3rd Century and enforced to replace various mid-winter ceremonies among Roman and pagan European tribes. It was a convenient replacement for the drinking and eating rituals associated with the winter solstice and the worst weather of the year in the northern hemsphere.
There is no mention in the Bible of snow or even of a season of the year for the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The idea of "In the bleak midwinter..." was a Victorian invention based on earlier church mistakes over the most likely date. And it gave an increased sense of romantic destitution to the story of his birth.
All the evidence from the New Testament is that Jesus was born in September, at the latest. "Shepherds watching over their flocks by night" does not happen anywhere in the world during the season of snow. It stops in late September in the Galilee mountains. Even within living memory, flocks were taken to low ground and sometimes indoors before the risk of frost came to the hills.
The great census was undertaken between May and September in the year we would call 4BC. It is mentioned in the New Testament as the reason for Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem.
In meteorological terms, above a certain altitude, Galilean hills do experience frosts from about mid-November to the end of January each year. Snow is very unusual, as you'd expect at a latitude of about 31 deg 34 mins north; on a level with Algiers in North Africa.
2007-12-15 05:52:06 · answer #1 · answered by Diapason45 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Your neighbour is wrong, the whole area gets snow! Bethlehem is in the West Bank area and controlled by Palestine, so perhaps you were looking in the wrong area.
Most people think that because there were shepherds out in the fields with lambs around, it can't have snowed, but it's very possible. I've helped deliver a few lambs in the past when there has been snow on the ground after a late fall by UK standards. It does occasionally snow in early Spring too! However it's far more likely that Jesus' birth was in the early spring and not in Mid Winter when we traditionally celebrate it. We depict the scene in a stable with snow around but the people of the region at that time are known to have used natural caves for housing animals in.
2007-12-12 07:13:53 · answer #2 · answered by willowGSD 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The poster who mentioned "desert doesn't mean hot, it means dry" is correct. Antarctica is technically the biggest desert in the world. Barely any snow falls there, but it's so cold it never melts. To answer your question, who knows what the probability of snow was in Bethlehem at the time. We can't ask any meteorologist from that time (nor did that even exist back then)
2007-12-12 06:51:57 · answer #3 · answered by That Wasnt My Hand 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to ask the same question all the time and the truth of the matter is it does snow there. They have very hot and dry summers and very cold and snowy winters at times. This is one strong reason why certain religions often disagree with the Christmas holiday because there is no evidence to prove that was the correct date of Jesus birth and shepherds would not have been watching a flock in the dead of snowy winter. If you look accurately at the calendar they used back then and our calendar today, Jesus was born probably sometime in the spring and not on December 25 as many clergymen would have you think. And just to add, Christ's disciples weren't instructed to remember his birth and never celebrated his birthday in the Bible. If it was important God would have mentioned it but he told his disciples instead to remember when he died for our sins and to commemorate his death by observing the Passover celebration. I hope that answers your question.
2007-12-12 06:56:28 · answer #4 · answered by pinkswizzle 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Good chance. Bethlehem often has snow in December. It can get cold up there in that part of Pennsylvania.
2007-12-12 06:41:21 · answer #5 · answered by Fudge Town 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is a zero chance of snow this Christmas; it's going to be in the mid-40s on Christmas Day.
2016-04-08 23:01:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Desert doesn't mean hot. Desert means dry. It can, and does, snow in Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.
2007-12-12 06:46:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I thought Bethlehem was in Palestine!
2007-12-12 06:40:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
who said that it DID ever snow in Bethlehem? We only associate snow with Christmas because Christmas happens in Winter when most of the west experience snow!! Don't tell me you thought they had a Christmas tree there too? lololololol
2007-12-12 06:41:42 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Remember there have been some serious cold spells due to volcanoes exploding and causing a dust cloud to block out sunlight.
2007-12-12 06:40:09 · answer #10 · answered by Steve C 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋