Nativity Scene

Putting up the nativity scene is always a big deal in our house. Our main nativity set is a set my father had as a child. It's an entire village with plaster of paris Mary and Joseph and Jesus and Wise Men (except, for some reason, there are 6 Wise Men, not 3) and animals and townspeople and buildings made of cork that are barely staying together given their age of 50+ years and blue tissue paper with gold stars on it to hang on the wall to represent the sky. We set it all up on a sheet of plywood, with gravel-lined paths and lights and some evergreen leaves. A couple years ago we were in Italy at Christmas and my mom bought some special brown-green paper and some mossy stuff, so we could make a whole landscape - we made hills and trees and bushes - it looked great. I'll have to scan a picture in at some point. My favourite part of the set is the 2 ducks that we always place at the entrance of the manger.

(He told this story that always breaks my heart when I think of it. When he was 9, they moved from Italy to here. He had packed up his nativity scene but my grandmother told him he couldn't bring it because there wasn't enough room. He had to leave it with relatives. It's so sad to think of this little boy being told he can't bring his precious nativity scene, after carefully packing it, and having to be without it for years until someone went back to Italy and returned with it)

Now, I admit, there have been some problems with our nativity scene in the past. When we were little, we used to use that fake spray snow to add snow to Bethlehem and the desert. Hmm. I also don't think they have Boreal forest evergreens in Bethlehem. I think the biggest issue came to light a year or two ago. I realized that, for 15 years, we had been setting up the town completely wrong, and had the Wise Men coming from the West. What were we thinking?!

Anyway, to get to the point (3 paragraphs later), nativity scenes are not just a staple, but a focus, of our Christmas decoration/preparation. So, now that I'm on my own, I was going to have to figure out my nativity scene situation.

I started looking around for what would be *my* nativity scene. After a month or so, I realized that I was going to have to get an interim nativity scene, and spend a bit of time trying to figure out what I wanted for my *main* nativity scene. Even as I looked for an interim set, though, I realized I apparently have subconsciously developed nativity scene criteria about which I am inflexible.

Nativity Scene Rules

1. There must be at least two sheep

2. The pieces must be separate pieces. Those all-in-one jobbies, where all the figures are already attached in the manger just won't do.

3. There must be an angel.

4. The figures must have some aura of "cuteness" about them. Or friendliness. Or openness and approachability. Or some indefinable quality that I just didn't see in many nativity scenes that, while nice, seemed rather cold and fake.

5. There must be a physical manger that Mary, Jesus and Joseph can actually sit/stand in.

6. One of the Wise Men must be black (or, at least, non-white).

7. There must be at least one shepherd.

8. I would prefer a cow and a camel. While a donkey is a nice touch, I have no strong feelings either way on it.

What did I end up with? The "Children's Nativity Scene". (I don't even want to know what it means that I bought the one aimed at children. :p)

13 pieces - manger, Mary, Jesus, Joseph, angel, sheperd holding sheep, 2nd stand-alone sheep, 3 Wise Men, camel, cow AND donkey! The figurines are described as "child-like" so they're quite cute. For only $13!!! At the strangest of places - Canadian Tire!

My only concern is that Mary's veil is yellow - Mary always has a blue veil. I'm contemplating repainting it.