Fictional Stories of the First Christmas by Sandi Somers

Several years ago, our InScribe bloggers wrote compelling fictional stories of a person involved in Jesus’ death and resurrection. These stories became the core of our 2021 anthology Easter Stories and More.

Judging by the popularity of that concept, we’re reintroducing the fictional theme for Christmas, each of us writing part of the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of one of the characters.

~ ~ ~

The Governor’s Dream

Palestine is in chaos. Judea lies heavy under the foot of Rome. Caesar Augustus has required a census, and everyone had to register in their ancestral city. My Jews, these troublesome people, complained that this was just another tax grab for the Emperor. Violent uprisings and revolts exploded all over the province. They grumbled that they’d have to walk for days through this bitter winter to reach their far-away cities.

Was there ever a governor as troubled as I? I Quirinius, Governor of the Jews—and all of Syria. I, too, was in chaos as I trained census takers, managed all the paperwork and tried to quell the violence in the most unexpected places. Why couldn't Rome have asked them to register in their own towns? It would have been so much easier.

~ ~ ~

And now I sleep, a troubled sleep. 

I see masses of people crisscrossing the country like ants disturbed from their ant hill. Donkeys. People loaded with food and provisions. Even a pregnant woman full term! In the darkness of night, cities are congested. Towns are crowded. Bethlehem is overflowing.

Watch dogs bark. The travellers jostle for rooms. People with short tempers shout and swear. Doors slam. “No room. No room! No room!!” Someone shakes me and demands I give them room.

“Wake up, Quirinius!” My wife is shaking me. “You’re having a bad dream. Why are you shouting, ‘No room! I can’t give them room!’?”

My thoughts begin to clear, and I try to understand what this dream means. Who is this pregnant woman? Why are so many people heading to Bethlehem - a small nondescript city? Why can no one give her a room? Even I would have let her sleep in my winter home.

“Go back to sleep,” my wife urges. “The census will soon be over and you can get back to governing in peace.”

~ ~ ~

I toss and turn and eventually fall asleep. 

I see a dark stable, but a holy light begins to glow. Cows moo and an infant sleeps. What indignity that this infant was born in a stable, of all places!

The night begins to grow bright. A messenger in flight hovers over shepherds outside Bethlehem. The shepherds fall to the ground, terrified. I hear them exclaim, “An angel! An angel! We're dead!”

The messenger touches me and his command reverberates in my ears. “Fear not! Rise up! Rise up! For he is come!”

My wife is standing over me. “Quirinius! Quirinius! You’re shouting again, ‘Why should I rise up? Come out! Come out!’”

My body is shuddering. I'm dripping with perspiration. My bed covers lie all twisted on the floor. As my wife picks them up and straightens them out, she laments, “This census is really getting to you like nothing else has. I’ll bring you tea so you can go back to sleep—peacefully this time."

I change my clothes. As the tea and my wife's presence soothe me, I ask, “Why did my dream continue? What can all of this mean?”

~ ~ ~

I fall asleep again. I dream. 

A bright star lights up the sky, brighter than any star I’ve ever seen. I see a Temple. A cross. An empty tomb. A melodic harp. A great choir sings, “Glory to God in the highest!” It’s a most beautiful song. “Good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people!” The voices continue towards a crescendo, joined by millions of singers, “He is Holy. He has come. Rise up! Rise up!”

I awaken. Early morning sunlight streams into my room. My wife is no longer beside me. She has gone to sleep in another room. 

Something has changed. The God of this Judea has told me to rise up. Peace floods me. Although I don’t understand what it all means, I know the Holy One has come to me. 

~ ~ ~

This story was inspired by the song, “A Governor’s Dream,” by Roger Whittaker (1936- ), and is based on Luke’s reference to Jesus’ birth during the time of Quirinius, Governor of Syria. I first heard “A Governor’s Dream” at a Roger Whittaker concert when he was at the height of his popularity in the 1970s. It still brings emotion as I replay it during the Christmas season. Listen to the song here. 

A Joy-Filled Christmas by Lynn Dove

The tree(s) have been up for a couple of weeks now.  The house is decorated and we are experiencing “hygge“, the recently popular Danish expression that goes far beyond the definition of the word.  I can’t help but giggle that in the last couple of years, books have been written here in North America about how to experience “hygge” in your home.  My parents were Danish, so I understand the true spirit of “hygge”.  It truly is a lifestyle, but it’s way more than that, and it’s not just experienced in and around Christmas but throughout the year.


Truly non-Danes do not get it.


Danes, who are known as the “happiest people on earth”, don’t need to write books on “hygge” because it just comes naturally to them.  You’ve either got it, or you don’t.  Reading books on how to attain it, means you probably won’t ever have it.  Sorry.


It is like JOY but goes far, far deeper than the word itself.  You either have it, or you don’t.  You can read books on how to attain it, but if you equate happiness with JOY then you probably won’t ever have it.  Sorry.


You see, JOY is something you have within you, that is not associated in any way with your personal circumstances.  You can have great JOY without experiencing happiness.  Read my series on Finding JOY NOT HAPPINESS.  It goes into great depth about being JOYFUL in spite of hard circumstances.


Christians know that JOY is not associated with personal wealth, health, things, work, or career.  JOY is found in only ONE Person…Jesus.  If you have JESUS, you have JOY.


Some people spend their whole lives trying to discover how to fill that void that only Jesus can fill.  They think work will make them happy, or friends, or family, or possessions, or hobbies, or a host of other things that may give them personal satisfaction or happiness for a little while, but it is all transitory.  None of those things has any kind of staying power.  A job loss, a broken relationship, a health crisis will quickly cause happiness to crumble but great JOY will remain if that person has put their faith and trust in Christ Jesus.


This Christmas Season as you dash around the malls in search of that perfect gift for that special someone, why not think first about accepting and then sharing a Gift that will last for all time?  It won’t cost you a penny to give or receive, but it is invaluable.  It is JOY wrapped up in a Person.  Accept HIM into your heart and experience the kind of JOY the angels heralded on that night as Mary laid her boy-child into a manger bed.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 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.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 2:1-14)

Merry Christmas!


(this article was originally published on Journey Thoughts - Dec. 12, 2017)

Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes.  A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner.  Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com