It is most common in our day to look at the birth of Jesus as a charming little story, somewhat like the story of Peter Rabbit or Peter and the Wolf. People who think like this would regard it as something we tell children but that no one is expected to take very seriously. It is just a nice little tale to tell at Christmas.
With the exception of the innkeeper, who saw nothing important about the birth of Jesus, each of the other characters in the story saw something that was both true and significant. Looking at Jesus through the eyes of Jewish tradition and Messianic expectation, Joseph saw him as the king who was to reign on his father David's throne. Looking at him through eyes conditioned by their poverty and low social status, the shepherds saw him as the gracious one who became a friend to sinners. Mary saw Jesus through the eyes of faith and recognized him as a miracle of God's grace to be forever marveled at and pondered.
Of course, the most wonderful human character in the story is Mary. Who can do justice to her experience and to the way she saw the birth? I know I cannot. Joseph saw the birth of Jesus through the eyes of Jewish tradition and expectation. The innkeeper regarded the birth through the eyes of bland indifference. The shepherds looked on the birth of Jesus through the eyes of the poor, marveling that he could have come for them. But Mary? Mary saw the birth of her firstborn son through the eyes of a tremendous faith.