The story is so familiar that even toddlers can relate the details. Mary and Joseph, on a cold night more than 2,000 years ago, arrive in the tiny town of Bethlehem.

Mary is about to give birth, yet the young couple is turned away from an inn and offered shelter in a stable full of animals.

But is that what really happened? Not according to a growing body of research into ancient traditions and customs of the time.

The Rev. Kenneth Bailey of New Wilmington, Mercer County, is one such scholar. As a minister of the Presbyterian Church USA, he served as a missionary for 40 years in the Middle East.

In addition to university and seminary studies, Bailey completed degrees in Arabic language and literature and systematic theology. He also holds a doctoral degree in New Testament studies.

Bailey's work presents a much different picture of what would have happened at the birth of Jesus. The historically accurate picture, Bailey says, is one of warmth, reassurance and welcoming by the common people — a theme that would continue throughout Jesus' life.

"The story of Jesus is the common people heard him," Bailey said. "You do not start off with a rejection."

According to Bailey, who holds a doctoral degree in theology, the widely accepted Nativity story doesn't fit well into what would have been the life and customs of the villagers of Bethlehem. Clues in the Biblical text lead to a less harsh, warm and welcoming birth story, Bailey says.

He has recently completed a play, "Open Hearts in Bethlehem," built on what he called a "fresh understanding of Luke 1-7." The play has already been performed several times.

"I tell people to think Amish," Bailey said. "Imagine a young Amish couple knocks on the door of an Amish house in the middle of the night. She is about to give birth. Are we to imagine that the Amish man says, 'We don't have time for people like you? There's the barn. Go take care of yourself.'

"Middle Eastern communities lived like a community," he said. "It would have been a shame on the whole village if this couple had not been taken in."

Bailey asserts that not only was Bethlehem and the surrounding area filled with relatives of young Mary and Joseph, the couple was already being housed with family members for some period of time before Jesus' birth.What's more, they were not in a cold, dirty stable, but were surrounded by the warmth of a family home.The Greek word kataluma, Bailey pointed out, doesn't mean "room" in the sense of an inn, but rather, a space to stay. Mark uses the same word in the story of the upper room. A different Greek word, pandokhato, is the standard room for a commercial inn."It's used all over the Arabic world," Bailey said. "Same word, every body knew it. Everybody used it."The text is clear, when looking at the original words, that the gospel writer Luke was not talking about a public inn, but rather, a space within a family home.A traditional Middle Eastern village home had two rooms, Bailey explained."One is set aside for guests, and the other is used for the family. In that room, at one end, there is a small space for the family's animals."He said each family would have had a cow for protein, a donkey as transportation, and at least three sheep "because that's your winter clothing."Outdoor stables or barns were not in existence at the time. The animals would have been brought into the home at night both to help provide heat, and to safeguard the livestock from theft. Villagers used either small wooden mangers or carved a manger into the floor between the living area and the animals' quarters."So Mary did what generations of mothers did before her," said Patricia Hill of Jefferson Township, an avid collector of Nativity sets. "She laid the baby Jesus in a manger, but it was the manger in the home, not a stable. There the baby would be safe, and would not be underfoot."Hill said she no longer uses stables when she displays figures of the Holy Family after learning years ago that stables did not exist at the time of Jesus.Stables, she said, did not come into use until the second century. After searching for Bible passages that referred to a barn or stable, she could find none. "So I thought, 'Why am I using a stable if there weren't any at the time?'"Hill cited Bailey's work during a recent talk to the John A. Roebling Questers Chapter in Saxonburg.

How the current Nativity story emerged is a matter of a number of distortions that come about over time, Bailey asserts. Much has been misinterpreted as Christianity spread to different cultures. The text of scripture was written for people who understand the customs of the time, Bailey points out.As an example, he said, "Readers would see the phrase 'wrapped in swaddling clothes,' and think, 'that is what villagers do.' When they read the word 'manger' they would ask, 'Manger: that's in the living room. Don't they have a guest room?' The writer of the text, knowing this, answers, 'Because there was no space for them in the guest room.' And the reader says, 'Oh yes. The family room is nicer anyway.'"Bailey explained further support comes from the shepherds' reaction after their visit."The clincher is that the shepherds went home praising God for all they have seen and heard. … Think for a moment. Let us imagine they stick their noses into a stable with manure on the floor. It's filthy, smelly."There's this frightened young girl with a newborn baby. The shepherds are going to go through the roof in the first five seconds. They are going to say, 'This is outrageous! Come home with us and let our women take care of you.'"How could they walk out praising God if there was some inadequacy in the hospitality? It doesn't make any sense."And that is exactly what Bailey said he is trying to accomplish — making sense of the details.Audiences, he said, are "usually relieved and pleased. I'm not debunking the story. I'm not attacking the text. I'm saying 'Here is a way that the text makes much more sense.'"It's not a matter of tearing down our beautiful story of the birth. No. Let's enrich it."