Aviram Oshri, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, believes that Jesus was actually born in a small village called Bethlehem of Galilee, over 100 kilometers from Bethlehem of Judea.

Matthew also says that after Herod dies from an illness, Joseph, Mary and Jesus do not return to Bethlehem. Instead, they travel north to Nazareth in Galilee, which is modern-day Nazareth in Israel.

Every Christmas, Bethlehem becomes a focus of global attention ... Nazareth or around the Sea of Galilee. But when did Christians start to consider places as holy and begin travelling to them ...

Aviram Oshri of the Israel Antiquities Authority argues that Jesus may have been born in Bethlehem of Galilee, a smaller town closer to Nazareth. Oshri points to Byzantine-era ruins, including a ...