This is what Christmas is truly about: the birth of a baby who would become the perfect man, our example, our Savior. It's awesome to me that the circumstances of his birth were so simple and uninspiring, and yet through the ages his birth has inspired faith in so many people. I'm sure his parents, Mary and Joseph, couldn't imagine at the time the blessings this little child would bring or all the prophecies he would fulfill.
After receiving shepherds who had been told by angels to follow a star where they would find and worship a newborn baby in a stable manger, and then three wisemen who brought priceless gifts and followed a star to find a king, these young parents must have known he was pretty special and that other people thought so too. The scripture says "...Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." For me it's hard to imagine the wonder and awe that Mary felt as she experienced these things.
And yet each Christmas I feel a sense of wonder as I think about the true meaning of Christmas. There is so much about this season that I love, and that inspires me. It's easy to get lost in all the symbols of Christmas and forget the true reason behind our celebrations and gift giving. Ever since my brother died six years ago at Christmas it's become a little easier to remember the true meaning of Christmas. This tiny child born in a stable, whose birth was heralded by angels and recorded in the stars, gave us so much promise and hope. He showed us how to truly live, love and serve. He paid for our sins and overcame death so we could have the promise of life--life immortal and life eternal with God, our father.
I love Christmas for these reasons. I love setting up the nativity and focusing on the the Christ child. What a season of joy and hope this truly is. I hope you feel it in your heart.
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At home with my parents, we set up the little nativity scene from my father's family. He's had this nativity since he was a child. It's a well loved classic nativity from the 1940s, with cracked paint and multiple repairs. The original baby Jesus is missing. Dad wanted to slide down the coal chute and thought his mom would let him if he threw baby Jesus down the coal chute. To his great disappointment he didn't get to slide down the coal chute and so baby Jesus remained in the coal. I love this piece of family history and all the imperfections from aging and the love that it has received. I miss this little nativity. (Please see the comments for my father's version of the coal chute baby Jesus. Thanks Dad for setting me straight.)
This year for my first Christmas in my own apartment before buying a tree or putting up lights, I set up a nativity. In my travels this year I bought a nativity from the Woodcarver's Village in Kenya. It looks totally different from any nativity I have. It's earthy, tribal and stern, but it gets the basic story line across. I love the animals: a warthog, hyena and a sort of African sheep. This is definitely not my father's nativity, but I love it anyway.
And then I have this nativity from my sister-in-law, which I put under my tree. What better place to put God's greatest gift to us than under the Christmas tree where we put all the gifts we are giving and receiving. This has really helped me to remember the true meaning of Christmas this year.
I really love this one too. My mom made this for me in Relief Society one year. I just feel loved when I get this one out.
I picked this one up in Italy. I have seen similar scenes on many of the buildings there. I plan on keeping this one out all year. So very Catholic of me...
photos by me
4 comments:
Daughter,
I think that Mom and Dad got the "manger scene" after they were married on Dec 7, so it is 1930s vintage.
I would never put baby Jesus "down the coal shoot." I did put his swaddling clothing down the hole in the floor that the chain went down to control the furnace. Besides not getting to go down and play in the coal bin, I also got a good whipping from Mom.
Being the kind of kid that I was I played hard with all the figures of the scene and most were broken. I think the donkey and one or two camels survived mostly un scared. Your sister got with Karren Fredrickson and repaired the broken figers. They look a lot better now than fixed with tape.
Dad
PS:
The "manger scene" was always under the tree. There is a hole in the back of the stable for a bulb from the lights on the tree. It stayed under the tree till Mom and Dad gave it to me and it came to Utah, which by the way is not part of the United States, or so Dad said. When it came to Utah it went up on the mantel of the front room fire place where little hands just like mine couldn't get to it as easy. Rebecca has fessed up that you guys did play with it, but you were genteler than I.
As I got older there were two things needed that we didn't have: a star and an angel. We got a red plastic star that hung in the tree above the stable and a plastic angel to stand behind the manger. Progress had caused plaster of paris angels to go off the stor shelves.
Mom always made suger cookies for Christmas, but didn't have a star cookie cutter. So she used the plastic star from the tree and then put it back. She finally got a star cutter.
Dad
PPS: I think Mom and Dad lived on Heath Street, in Lafayette, Indiana when they first got it.
PPPS:
Dad considered Indiana part of the United States. As well as the best state in the Union. Both of his grandpas and great grandpas fought in the Civil War. One set for the North, the Boyers and the other set for the south, the Lortons.
What a beautiful post. I love your writing:)
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