The Tradition Continues

When I was a small child, my aunt Beverly dressed up my sister Allison & me and we acted out the nativity. As the family grew, more cousins became a part of the pageant.

We've tried to continue this tradition in our family to help the kids understand and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

When we brought the crate of blankets, robes and scarves to my parents' house, we didn't know who would play what parts. Like they say in The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever, there are no small parts, only small actors (in this case, literally).

Gabriel wanted to be an angel, like his name, he said, but Mason wasn't feeling very well and didn't want to be Joseph, so Gabe accepted that next year he could be the angel Gabriel. Paloma did not want to dress up, but Zoe was willing. Once Maya got dressed, we didn't call her an angel because she looked more like a sheep.

Carmen had practiced reading from Luke, but we didn't bring our heavy Bible from home, which turned out to be a different version than the one she read of Dad's.

Anyway we got through the first of the story
without incident
but then we had an early and unexpected visitor: Allison, wearing a dirty tablecloth and playing the role of the Magi (which was cracking up most everyone who wasn't already involved).
Then, soon after that interruption, visitor #2 entered center stage in a less traditional role: Paloma, apparently playing the role of King Herod, tried to kidnap the baby Jesus.
Zoe channeled a mother's adrenaline to fight off the kidnapper.
Mary was left to ponder these things in her heart: How could someone be so cruel? Why would someone try to take the baby out of my arms? Who IS King Herod, anyway?

Stay tuned for next year's version. You never know who might show up. We're not sure who might be allowed to hold a real baby after this year's reenactment!