there was ABSOLUTELY no reason for Mary to go to Bethlehem even if it was the ancestral land of Joseph. In those days and for thousands of years--PREGNANT jewish girls had their babies in the houses of their MOTHERS or other female relatives. They did not go off on a donkey on a long arduous journey whilst "HEAVY WITH CHILD" ---to unknown accommodations and no female relatives.
That part of the story never made sense to me.
That part of the story never made sense to me.