At first hearing it seems as though Mary must have gotten it all wrong. Isn’t Christmas a time for celebration? Luke tells us that "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (2:19). The contrast is striking. While every year the Christmas retail season starts earlier and earlier and the hype gets more and more intense, the first Christmas was not an intense affair at all. If anything, it seems to be quite calm and quiet in comparison to today’s festivities.