Adventures in Nativity Scenes
Anyone who has been reading my livejournal for more than a year knows that I start setting up my Nativity scene for Christmas on the first week of Advent and that I add to it and change it every week thereafter until after Epiphany. My precedent for this activity is that as a Catholic, I grew up with the dictum that the Baby Jesus does not go in the manger until Christmas day. I decided that that being so, the scene should reflect the changing days of Advent into Christmas.
On Christmas day, not only does the baby Jesus go in the manger, but the three wise men suddenly appear at the far corner of the living room from the stable. Over the next twelve days, they make their way around the walls of the living room toward Bethelehem. This year, they got off to a slow start, making my son worry that they weren't going to get there in time. When he reminded me, I suddenly remembered that I forgot to move them after yoga this morning. And that he had no cause to worry.
A few years back, I started setting up the Advent calendar on the cocktail table in front of the fireplace. This calendar is in the shape of a book that opens into three panels of a Victorian village in winter. With people listening to caroling, a puppeteer, a man selling hot cockles. Naturally, the table is less crowded than the mantle over the fireplace, so the three wise men "decided" to take the lower path. And that was when we learned of a fatal flaw in Gaspar. He loves to shop. Left to him, they would spend the next three days in the village, shopping, listening to the carols, laughing at Punch and Judy. (Interpretation, I was distracted that year and didn't move the figures fast enough).
So that is now part of our family tradition - if the three wise men go through the village, Gaspar will try to delay them. This year, Melchior and Balthazar are on either side of Gaspar, physically shielding him from the sights of the village - and they covered a great deal of territory in their last move because the other two were hustling through the night, trying to pass through before everyone woke up.
They didn't quite make it, but they tried.
The thing that amuses me most about this, though, is that when I finished setting the figures in their new positions, my son immediately understood exactly why each of the three kings was placed where it was - because our figures have unique personalities and he knows them.
He was also amused by the sheep I call "Gabby" who is being hustled back away from the stable to join the other sheep. Gabby's been trying to inform everyone about the angel hanging over the stable and no one is paying him any mind.
I must admit, I'm a bit worried about the magi traveling under the tree. There's this big black feline that sometimes hangs out under there and there's no telling what she'd do with them.
On Christmas day, not only does the baby Jesus go in the manger, but the three wise men suddenly appear at the far corner of the living room from the stable. Over the next twelve days, they make their way around the walls of the living room toward Bethelehem. This year, they got off to a slow start, making my son worry that they weren't going to get there in time. When he reminded me, I suddenly remembered that I forgot to move them after yoga this morning. And that he had no cause to worry.
A few years back, I started setting up the Advent calendar on the cocktail table in front of the fireplace. This calendar is in the shape of a book that opens into three panels of a Victorian village in winter. With people listening to caroling, a puppeteer, a man selling hot cockles. Naturally, the table is less crowded than the mantle over the fireplace, so the three wise men "decided" to take the lower path. And that was when we learned of a fatal flaw in Gaspar. He loves to shop. Left to him, they would spend the next three days in the village, shopping, listening to the carols, laughing at Punch and Judy. (Interpretation, I was distracted that year and didn't move the figures fast enough).
So that is now part of our family tradition - if the three wise men go through the village, Gaspar will try to delay them. This year, Melchior and Balthazar are on either side of Gaspar, physically shielding him from the sights of the village - and they covered a great deal of territory in their last move because the other two were hustling through the night, trying to pass through before everyone woke up.
They didn't quite make it, but they tried.
The thing that amuses me most about this, though, is that when I finished setting the figures in their new positions, my son immediately understood exactly why each of the three kings was placed where it was - because our figures have unique personalities and he knows them.
He was also amused by the sheep I call "Gabby" who is being hustled back away from the stable to join the other sheep. Gabby's been trying to inform everyone about the angel hanging over the stable and no one is paying him any mind.
I must admit, I'm a bit worried about the magi traveling under the tree. There's this big black feline that sometimes hangs out under there and there's no telling what she'd do with them.