Scandal of Mary and Joseph passes most Britons by - as they place Father Christmas by the manger Others seemingly confused the birth of Christ with the Battle of Hastings, mistaking Herod for "King Harold." Meanwhile a handful suggested that Mary and Joseph were "on their first date" when the Angel Gabriel announced that Mary was with child. The pollsters ICM asked just over 1,000 children and 1,000 parents to take a short multiple-choice test to gauge their knowledge of the Christmas story on behalf of the Bible Society. Overall it found high levels of knowledge about the birth of Christ despite recent census figures showing a sharp drop in the number of people who would describe themselves as Christian over the last decade. And, despite lower attendances at Sunday services in recent years, the poll found evidence that just over half of all families are planning to attend, or have already attended, a school nativity play this year. Overall 98 per cent of those tested correctly identified Bethlehem as Jesus's birthplace according to the Bible - although a handful did suggest Beirut. Meanwhile nine out of 10 remembered that he was placed in a manger, and 83 per cent singled out the Angel Gabriel as announcing the news to Mary that she was to have a child. But when asked about Mary and Joseph's relationship status at the time, six out of 10 assumed that they were married. According to the Gospel of Matthew Mary was "espoused" - as the King James Version puts it - or pledged to be married to Joseph at the time. On hearing that she was pregnant, Joseph is described as being "minded to put her away privily" to avoid scandal. Allthough many versions use the word "divorce" to convey the level of commitment involved in the espousal. Overall only 26 per cent knew that the couple pledged rather than fully married at the time. Perhaps as a sign of the times, two per cent of those polled - or 42 people - thought that they were only "on their first date" when Mary found out she was pregnant. When asked who first visited the baby Jesus, only 46 per cent correctly identified the Shepherds while almost as many thought it was the wise men, and 13 per cent suggested angels. In total 37 people thought that the answer was Father Christmas. Notably, parents were more likely to inject Father Christmas into the nativity story than children. Ann Holt, a director of Bible Society, said: "Knowledge of the Nativity story is remarkably good, and remarkably high - with all the doom and gloom around about the demise of Christianity. It just shows the power of these stories to hold on. This poll shows what an important part schools have to play in passing on the Christmas Story from one generation to another and historically what a good job they have done. But she added: "Nativity plays do sanitise the story so many assume Mary and Joseph were married and, in doing so, miss the genuine hint of scandal there was at the time."