The Nature of Nativities
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Family on Friday, December 19, 2008 2:30 PM
Yesterday, my house was packed with teens celebrating the last day of finals and blowing off steam with copious amounts of pizza and sparkling cider. They were eating the cookies and brownies faster than I could bake them - it was pure joy!
I heard one of the teens remark on the four nativity scenes our family has sprinkled around the house. Now that Eric is in public school, very few of his school friends are Catholic, so their homes do not necessarily have the trappings of the season that ours do. I suppose that boy probably thought Eric’s mom was a bit obsessive with all of her nativities!
But each one of them has a special set of memories attached. My favorite, the first one Greg and I purchased early in our marriage, still gets stored away every January in its original Target box. It wasn’t expensive then, and it is not valuable now - but to me it’s a treasure. Other sets have been gifted to us over the years, but that one will always be my first and my favorite.
The shepherds and wise men have welcomed Batman and Spiderman among them and been found at various times in different corners of the house. When Adam was little, he used to refer to our Target nativity as the “Nactivity Scene”, perhaps confusing some of the major players as action figures in his three year old mind.
These days, when I set up the Nativity Scenes, they stay put. No little hands mess up my perfect arrangements and no camels are found in Lego castles. My neatly aligned displays remain untouched, but not unloved. In a way, it makes me sad. But just as our children have grown and blossomed, they way we celebrate holidays as a family continues to evolve and beautiful traditions continue to be created.
What is the story of your family’s nativity scene? Is it an heirloom, or hand crafted of play dough? Do your shepherds and wise men travel to the manger (or away from it?) I’d love to hear your nativity traditions!
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