Sunday, December 24, 2006

O Holy Night

I don't know what it is about the holidays, but I always get nostalgic for the way that things were when I was growing up. Traditions, moments, I want to feel them all over again as if they were happening for the first time. This feeling has only multiplied since having The Boy. I find myself going out of my way to get things "perfect", so that he doesn't miss out on one iota of the magic that I remember. Funny thing is, nothing was "perfect" when I was growing up either, it just was what it was. Some things just got in my head, and stuck.

One of those things was the Nativity scene. Growing up with a minister for a father, this was not an unfamiliar image. In fact, one of my fondest memories was sitting in Sunday school with my brother, creating a nativity out of felt, styrofoam and glue. Since we were little, we only got as far as Mary and Joseph, but oh how I loved them. I kept them for years, and my mom dutifully trucked them out each Christmas, even though they were pretty hideous. Finally, after much use, they fell to pieces.

I've wanted a Nativity set of my own for awhile. I've had my eye on this one for a long time, but it's pretty expensive. So this year, having finished my wrapping early (I know!), I got it into my head that I wanted to make a Mary and Joseph in the old school tradition. The Boy is too young to help me just yet, but I'm hoping he will be able to help me make the wise men next year. Strangely enough, they do look like a child made them. A child at heart, I suppose:

Peace on earth. Goodwill to all.

5 comments:

Kyla said...

Merry Christmas! (heh. I actually typed "Mary Christmas" initially, I guess I had nativity on the brain)

Mad said...

Oh so lovely. I remember when I was about 8, there was a Christmas magazine, Women's Day or some such thing, with a craft section. It showed how to make Bethlehem out of old kleenex boxes and wrapping paper tubes and the like. I soooo wanted to make it but our family handn't been saving kleenex boxes for the better part of a year, so no dice. This Christmas, I started a box in the basement with all the wrapping paper tubes, hoping, just hoping, that my daughter and I can get wild and crafty in a couple of years time. Crazy, isn't it? The way these holiday memories consume you.

ms blue said...

I think your Mary and Joseph are beautiful. Hope your Christmas was wonderful!

By the way, to answer your question, the Warhol pic is of my three year old daughter! My husband and I were thinking that she looks a little too grown up in that photo! hee hee.

ewe are here said...

What a sweet Mary & Joseph you've made.

I picked up a sweet little stained glass Nativity Set at a local charity shop a couple of weeks ago; a few tea candles will light it up a bit. ;-)

Beck said...

I think they're quite beautiful. I actually like them much better than the Willow Tree ones - their simplicity feels much more authentic.
Half the bloggers I read had minister fathers. What's up with that?
I fixed my bloglines problem and you should be showing up all the time now!