On Christmas Eve, outdoorsman and TV personality Bear Grylls took to his X account to make a misleading statement about the birth of Christ, calling Mary “a Palestinian girl” and claiming that she and Joseph were “refugees” when they traveled to Bethlehem. This inaccurate portrayal, which Grylls used to advance a political narrative, quickly garnered backlash.
In his post, Grylls referred to the birth of Christ as “the birth of a Middle Eastern refugee” who “changed the course of the world forever.” He went on to describe Mary as a “poor, terrified Palestinian girl” who gave birth in a “run-down animal pen.” Grylls concluded by calling the birth of Christ “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” but his take on the story was riddled with historical inaccuracies.
In reality, Mary and Joseph were not refugees, nor were they “Palestinian.” According to the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to register for a Roman census, a requirement for taxation purposes under Caesar Augustus. This journey was not about immigration but about fulfilling a government mandate. Mary and Joseph were residents of Nazareth in Judea, which was under Roman rule at the time. They were Jewish, not Palestinians.
Grylls’ post is part of a broader trend of modern political groups attempting to reshape the Christmas story for their own agendas, often invoking terms like “immigrant” or “refugee” to push narratives around immigration policy. However, historical context makes it clear that Joseph and Mary were neither of these things.
Despite a corrective community note from X, Grylls’ post remains live, reflecting a continued misrepresentation of the biblical story for political gain.
