Away In A Manger

When I was growing up, I always liked to help set up the nativity for Christmas. The pieces we had were painted ceramic, and I suppose that they were not expensive or of very high quality. But I loved them. I'd carefully unwrap them from their tissue paper and place them just so in the stable. Then I'd move them around a little...switch those two shepherds with the camel...put the sheep in front of the donkey...move Joseph just a hair closer to Mary. It had to look just right.


The stable was made of wood and it had bits of straw and irish moss glued to it in places. One of the wisemen was painted black and Mary's robe was painted blue. There were probably even a few pieces that were chipped or had places where the paint had worn off.


The set was discarded long ago - it wasn't like it was valuable or an heirloom in any way. My parents now have a beautiful nativity, the kind that is passed down to the next generation.


I have three nativities - and I think they're all pretty nice. The first one I got after my Grandmother died. It's not fancy, but I cherish it because it was hers, and she loved it.


The pieces are small - the entire 15 piece set fits inside an 8x8 cube box, along with two pieces of purple velvet. This is the top of the box:

My Grandma had wrapped all the pieces in Kleenex, and that's how it stays. The Kleenex is torn and falling apart, but it smells like her and her home. I can't imagine ever throwing it out in favor of crisp, new tissue paper. I miss my Grandma.

Here is the Family. Joseph is only about 3 inches tall.

And some of the other pieces...

It's priceless to me.


My next nativity set was made by my mother-in-law and given to us years and years ago. She was really into ceramics and (hopefully) made one of these for all her kids. She painted the pieces with a pearly clearcoat.

Cameron took over the setting up of this nativity. He's a lot like me...making it look right, with each piece in an aesthetically pleasing spot. He did this whole thing with the lodgepole pines and extra garland all by himself. It's sitting in a window seat in our front room. He did an excellent job. I think it looks really nice.


The only thing that I don't really care for in this set, is that Joseph has his arms folded. I like the outstretched arm from my grandma's set better. I don't know...the folded arms make him look bored or detached from the situation. He should be more welcoming to the visitors, saying "Come and see...". I'm probably the only one who thinks that. I really like the stable. It reminds me of the one we had when I was a little girl.

My last nativity is just this small two piece set. Does it count as a nativity if the wisemen and the camels aren't there? I don't remember where I got it, though it's possible that my mother-in-law made it as well. I love the closeness of Joseph and Mary and the fact that Mary is holding Baby Jesus, and how they are both just looking at Him with wonder and awe. 'Cause that's how it really is when a new baby comes.

That Baby Jesus is loose though. When I took the big piece out of the box and started unwrapping it, I couldn't find the Him! I frantically squeezed all the wads of tissue paper, worried that He'd gotten misplaced or thrown out. I found Him, carefully wrapped and down in a corner of the box. Whew!


And then because our house is small and the boys insist on using every single decoration, (also because we decorate one room and one room only), this peaceful scene of the Baby Jesus being held and cuddled and loved by His parents, is being watched over ...





by a giant, smiling snowman.






Do you have a nativity?

What makes it special to you?