Every Christmas, beginning when I was a very little girl, my family had a brightly painted, plaster, nativity set sitting on top of the TV. At first, our set consisted of only Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, lying in a manger. But each year, until I was out of grade school, Mom, Dan, and I, and Laura, when she finally entered the picture, would walk to the dime store, first in Norfolk, then in Fairbury, to buy one or two more pieces for our nativity set. I remember standing in front of Hested's display table, gazing at each possible addition to our set, and discussing which ones we should buy that year.
The figurines didn't cost much, certainly less than a dollar apiece, but each one was still a significant purchase for our family. We added shepherds and sheep first. It was a banner year when we were able to afford the cardboard stable. The wise men and camels were added two pieces at a time. After we had all of the most essential characters, we added an angel, a cow and donkey, and more sheep and shepherds.
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| Dan, holding the cat, Laura, and me, with our Cocker Spaniel, Daisy. |
My brother and sister and I were allowed to play with the nativity set, so it was inevitable that some pieces should be broken. When that happened, Mom would get out the Elmer's glue to reattach an ear here, or a foot there. If a piece was too badly broken to be fixed, we would plan to get a replacement the next time we bought something for the nativity set.
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| Our first nativity has expanded over the years. |
When Advent and Christmas were over, we carefully wrapped each piece in newspaper, and placed it gently into a labeled cardboard box, which was put into storage until the next year.
Bill tells me that he was still in grade school when he and his Grandma Lucas painted a large, 19-piece, nativity set at the neighborhood ceramic shop. They worked on that set, one piece at a time, for several weeks, until every one was completed. Not too many years after Bill and I were married, that nativity set came to reside at our house. Every year, we carefully unwrap each piece, keeping our eyes peeled so we don't miss the tiny baby Jesus in the crumpled up newspapers.
At first, we put the nativity set on top of the pump organ, with the larger wise men and camels lined up on the floor, next to the wall. We only did that for a few years, until our first baby was mobile. Ever since Erin was born, that set has had the place of honor on the family room shelves.
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| Bill and his Grandma Lucas painted this nativity set. |
Erin and Meagan were little when my Grandma Vawser began painting ceramics. For several years, she painted two or three pieces of a large nativity set for every one of her grown grandchildren, until we each had a complete set. That nativity set fits well on our entry table, so it is one of the first things people see when they come to visit us at Christmas time.
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| Grandma Vawser painted this nativity set, piece by piece. |
I suppose it was more than ten years ago, already, when my brother, Dan, made a trek to Israel, and brought us a small nativity set from the Holy Land. The stable is carved and pieced together from natural wood, with five ceramic figures firmly attached inside.
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| This set came from the Holy Land. |
Each of these nativity sets is unique, but they all tell the same story of Jesus' birth. In addition, each set has its own story of the family that bought it or created it. All have a few chips here and there and, if you look closely, you will see the places where an ear or arm has been glued back on after some small person has bumped or dropped a shepherd or donkey. (Those donkeys' ears seem to be the most fragile.) Like my mother before me, I don't mind when the children want to touch the nativity sets, telling and retelling the miraculous story of Jesus' birth.
If we are honest with each other, perhaps we would say that we, too, would love to touch and hold Jesus. The good news is that he came for just that reason: to make it possible for us to truly know our God.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Luke 2: 8-11
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