Ceasar Augustus was the first Roman Emperor, and reigned from 31 BC to 14 AD) and under his reign the Roman Empire included the entire Mediterranean world. Quirinius has two periods of office, 6-4 BC and 6-9 AD. This is the first census. Their "own town" is probably the town of ancestral origin. So Joseph took Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, this would be about a three day journey. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph and was pregnant. Luke does not mention the difficulty that Joseph had in dealing with the situation, which Matthew does refer to. While there the baby was born, and we get the famous words "no room at the inn".
While Matthew refers to kings coming to visit Jesus, Luke refers to the shepherds coming to visit. Luke is more interested in the fact the Jesus was reaching out to all sectors of society, and all parts of the world. A great host of angels appeared to the shepherd and the angel of the Lord spoke to them, announcing that the Messiah had come to them.
After the angels had gone the shepherd resolved to go to Bethlehem. They found Jesus and then spread the word. So again, the sense of expectation was raised in the area. It would be almost thirty years before things really started to happen, and to us that seems like an age away, but we will see later that when John the Baptist and Jesus did appear there was indeed an expectation of a Messiah.
Mary pondered all that was happening. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, in accordance with Jewish Law.
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