The Smiths: Nativity

Once again the Nativity story was front and center of our Christmas festivities this year. Our family participated in the live Nativity production in our community. Instead of being shepherd's though, Nate and the boys took on new roles. Nate was a roman tax collector. Clayton was the first on the scene as a city boy who interacts with Mary and Joseph as they come into Bethlehem. Isaac played his part as a shepherd. And Brig was part of the busy Bethlehem crowd. The girls and I got to watch from the audience for the first time! It was spectacular!

We loved Samuel the Lamanite who appeared out of nowhere high up on the wall.

The live Nativity is one of the highlights of our Christmas season. We love doing this every year with our friends. We'll never forget the year Eliza got to play baby Jesus (and cried through the whole thing).

The Primary children did their annual Christmas program at the assisted living center. They sang beautifully. . . as always.

Naomi and Eliza both played Mary - sorry, there was no getting around it. They were very cute and fit the role with double perfection!

The kids enjoyed shaking hands and interacting with the residents who, of course, always adore them.

There was more dress-ups and playing to be had with friends. Eliza and Lydia were participants in a spontaneous Nativity reenactment at a friends house. Love the costumes!

On Christmas Eve it's always a contest to see who can count the correct number of Nativity scenes around our house. This year there were 31. It helped that Eliza made like eight hundred of these.

Here are a few other scenes from around the house.

My olive wood set from Jerusalem. This city (carved from one piece of wood and can collapse to look like an ordinary piece of bark) was a gift from Nate's grandmother. It's from Switzerland. But it becomes Bethlehem each year for Christmas.

This is the set I got in Mexico while visiting my parents in the mission home.

Here are a few others tucked away on shelves and tables. . .

and tree branches!

This one from Ghana is my favorite. It was given to me by my grandmother before she passed away. She got it in Ghana in 1978 when she and my grandfather were among the first missionaries there.

I also printed and displayed a few Nativity paintings. I love the faces in this one.

I love all the buildings. The scattered sheep. The wise men with the camel.

I love the light coming from the candle in Joseph's hand. (not from the manger itself, which doesn't seem very realistic.)

This one is from Ethiopia. The Ethiopians have an ancient tradition of Christianity. They believe that when Joseph and Mary fled Bethlehem, instead of going to Egypt, they went all the way to Ethiopia. And there's some evidence that they might be right. Because of that, old paintings of Mary, Joseph, and the baby are found throughout Ethiopia. Many also believe that one of the Magi was an Ethiopian prince.