Walking to Bethlehem

I have my manger scene set out, with the Wise Men and the animals and the baby. It's a far smaller set than that my parents had. Mom had a huge manger scene which would be displayed on a shelf Dad built specifically for it. Her "host of heavenly angels" probably numbered at least 50 by the time she stopped collecting and they moved to a smaller house.

This old stained photo shows the early days, 1971, to be exact, when the scene was just beginning to grow. As you can see, there are a good lot of angels already. The baby has arrived, so this was after Cgeistmas, but I don't see the Wise Men yet.

Mary and Joseph would journey all around our living room and entry hall during the month of December, and would not reach the creche until the evening of December 24. The baby would not appear in the manger until midnight. The manger was lined with straws, usually plucked from the broom--we children were tasked with doing good deeds all month, and for each good deed we could add one straw to the manger. Some years the baby had a hard bed indeed.

The Wise Men journeyed too, but their trek was longer. They did not arrive until January 6th, Old Christmas.

This was just one of the many traditions Mom maintained for many years. Slowly over the years she stopped doing many of them, but during my childhood Christmas was made an exciting, special season not just because of presents but because of Mom and Dad's efforts to keep up the old traditions they remembered from their childhoods, Dad's in Louisiana and Mom's in Caldecote, England. I still do many of these things, although not the Bethlehem journey--but greenery, lights, mistletoe, mincemeat, fruitcake, and so many more continue to make this season merry, bright, and magical.

To close, here is one of my favorite carols, Angels We Have Heard on High.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.