Merry Christmas --- and 25 December is the Right Day . . .

. . . and it looks like the Roman Empire's census records agree.

The FSSP's current newsletter "Memento" has a fascinating article on just that subject. The citation is going to be a little  wordier than usual.

Start here at the FSSP website's Memento link.  Then click on the image of the Memento at the top of the page.  [If you're coming at this  after a couple of months, it will be further down the  page among the back issues.  Hover the cursor over the images and it's the one that says "Christmas (Jan 2025")]  Page forward and it's the article entitled "The Holy Family in the Roman Census".

It's well-worth the search.  Could the Roman census have contained St Joseph's entry in his own handwriting?