Baby Jesus

What the words in this puzzle mean

ANGEL GABRIEL

The messenger who told Mary she would bear a son, in the account called the Annunciation.

ANGELS

The heavenly host who appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth.

BABY JESUS

The newborn child at the centre of the nativity story.

BETHLEHEM

The town in Judea where the birth took place, five miles south of Jerusalem.

CHRIST

From the Greek for "anointed one", the title given to Jesus rather than a second name.

CITY OF DAVID

Another name for Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David centuries earlier.

DONKEY

The animal tradition places at the manger, though the gospels never actually mention one.

FRANKINCENSE

A fragrant resin burned as incense, the second of the three gifts.

GALILEE

The northern region where Mary and Joseph lived, in the town of Nazareth.

GLORY TO GOD

The opening of the angels' song to the shepherds, sung at Christmas ever since.

GOODTIDINGS

Good tidings — the "good news of great joy" the angel brought to the shepherds.

HOLY SPIRIT

The third person of the Trinity, by whom the gospels say Mary conceived.

INNKEEPER

The figure of tradition who had no room; the gospels mention only that there was none.

JOSEPH

A carpenter of Nazareth, betrothed to Mary and the child's earthly father.

KING HEROD

The ruler of Judea who questioned the wise men and then ordered the children killed.

MANGER

A feeding trough for animals, used as the newborn's cradle.

MARY

The mother of Jesus, a young woman of Nazareth.

MYRRH

A bitter resin used in burial ointments, the third gift and the darkest in meaning.

NATIVITY

The birth itself, and the name given to the scene depicted at Christmas.

NAZARETH

The Galilean town Mary and Joseph came from and where Jesus grew up.

SHEEP

The flocks the shepherds were watching by night when the angels appeared.

SHEPHERD

One of the field workers who were told first — the lowest-status witnesses in the story.

STABLE

The shelter for animals where tradition places the birth.

STAR

The light the wise men followed west, sometimes called the Star of Bethlehem.

SWADDLING

Wrapping a newborn tightly in cloth strips, the ordinary practice of the time.

WISE MEN

The magi from the east who brought the three gifts; the gospels never say how many there were.