10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

² But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

³ To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

One of the most overlooked yet revealing details in the nativity story is the simple description of the shepherds on the night Jesus was born. This single detail, recorded in the Gospel of Luke, provides compelling evidence about the actual season of Christ’s birth and makes it clear that His arrival did not take place in the cold of winter, nor on December 25th as widely assumed today.

A sheepfold was a fenced area in which sheep were bedded down for the night to keep them safe from wild animals and thieves. This pen had only one door, and the shepherd slept near the door as an additional security measure.