My Nativity Collection

Every year around the end of October, I start planning where to place my nativity scenes around the house. My favorite nativity is my grandma's old one. I remember looking at it when I was a child. Grandma didn't put it up high out of our reach, but put it down low for all to enjoy. It is highly fragile, and you can see she's had to glue Baby Jesus back together. But, that didn't stop her from sharing it with everyone. Now it sits in my home, in the room where I spend most of my time, the kitchen. Maybe my love for these scenes comes from her. (Wiping tears from my eyes)

Notice I said I start planning in October, I don't actually start getting them out until well into November, but this year was later than normal. I have been so busy this Fall that I have hardly noticed the days slipping by me. So, last weekend, I pulled out my collection and joyfully started spreading them around the house.

Every year as I do this, I marvel at the fact that most Nativity scenes are not biblical. I mean, most of them have a stable and wise men. The Bible describes more of a cave as being the place of Christs' birth, and the wise men didn't come see Jesus until he was a toddler, not an infant. But, do those known facts keep me from placing my beloved collection around the house? Not at all.

Because in each scene, I place Baby Jesus in the middle with everyone facing Him. He is the center, the focal point, the main point of the whole thing. I have even used sticky tack and empty containers to lift Baby Jesus higher so you can see Him in the scenes that I have above the kitchen cabinets. I don't want you to miss the miracle of the nativity. I sing Away in the Manger as I decorate, tears filling my eyes, as I think of my mighty Savior being a helpless baby.

I love Christmas and I know I probably annoy people with starting my decorating before Thanksgiving. I know some people like to keep Christmas in December. And then there are some people who love Christmas all year long. I'm not nearly that extreme and my husband is probably glad for that! But, I can't limit my love of Christmas and my nativity scenes to only 4 weeks. It spills over into November and that's okay. Right now I am listening to Anne Murray singing O Holy Night. If you don't like it, don't come over. :) And really, I'm not skipping over Thanksgiving, but placing my collection around just makes me even more thankful.

The funny thing about it is I start taking down decorations either Christmas night or the day after. I am always eager to get things cleaned up and put back in order. But, my nativity scenes usually stay out for awhile longer allowing me to enjoy them into January, to always be refreshing my mind of the miracle. I am so thankful for my Jesus!

Every year I try to add one more scene to my collection, or to build on one I already have. Which reminds me, I need to go shopping....