Actually, the Wise Men aka Magi did not go to Bethlehem. The Bible states that nearby shepherds tending their flocks did so. However, the Magi (scholars of science, astrology, astronomy, and philosophy; not kings wearing crowns as Christmas cards depict) would arrive to visit them per the book of Mathew at their home (which was located in the town of Nazareth located in Galilee of Jerusalem Mathew 2: 1-2 --- not Bethlehem which was located in Egypt) later when he was a young child (not an infant) to present their gifts. Three gifts are mentioned but the Bible doesn't actually state how many Magi/Wise Men visited and never names any of them. The Bible also never stated that the birth took place in a stable, only that He was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger because there was no room at the inn. A manger was something just as likely to be used indoors in homes as well as in outside storage buildings, used by both business as well as households for storage rooms and larders, where it could be used for human food storage (fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains) as well as being used outdoors and in animal stables. The song, Away In A Manger, believed to have been written in the 1800s, is the first written mention of being "asleep on the hay."
Actually, the Wise Men aka Magi did not go to Bethlehem. The Bible states that nearby shepherds tending their flocks did so. However, the Magi (scholars of science, astrology, astronomy, and philosophy; not kings wearing crowns as Christmas cards depict) would arrive to visit them per the book of Mathew at their home (which was located in the town of Nazareth located in Galilee of Jerusalem Mathew 2: 1-2 --- not Bethlehem which was located in Egypt) later when he was a young child (not an infant) to present their gifts. Three gifts are mentioned but the Bible doesn't actually state how many Magi/Wise Men visited and never names any of them. The Bible also never stated that the birth took place in a stable, only that He was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger because there was no room at the inn. A manger was something just as likely to be used indoors in homes as well as in outside storage buildings, used by both business as well as households for storage rooms and larders, where it could be used for human food storage (fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains) as well as being used outdoors and in animal stables. The song, Away In A Manger, believed to have been written in the 1800s, is the first written mention of being "asleep on the hay."