Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ, Israel, November 2022

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ, Israel, November 2022
November 14, 2022
aka Basilica of the Nativity. This is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship for Christians. It is the oldest major church in the Holy Land, first built in the early 330s AD.
It was used as a coronation church for Crusader kings.
The main entrance is the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it. Apparently at one point people were bringing in cattle and other animals and so the entrance was made very small!
The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717).
The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic.
The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary laid on when she gave birth to Jesus.
Luke 2:7
Birth of Jesus Christ
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.