First, let me say we did not have a nativity scene in our home when I was growing up. The only thing I had was a small plastic version to hang on the tree. When I was teaching Sunday school, I bought those ornaments for my students. I still have the one that was left over. I always purchased more than I needed because there could be a visitor on that Sunday before Christmas.

My mother found the figures for the Nativity in a small gift shop inside of the bakery on Central Avenue in Dunkirk. It was a beautifully carved wooden set. She purchased it for her new home. She remarried the year that I graduated from Fredonia State (that is what it was called at that time). Her husband hand-crafted a manger for her. I loved it. When I married a couple years later, I got a manger of my own for my home. They purchased some plastic figures to put in it. There was room for a light in the back to light it up.

That first year I had trouble finding a spot to set it out. I was living in a mobile home and there was not much room. Couple that with two active toddlers born while we lived there and it was not put out.

When I got into Hickory Heights, I was overjoyed to be able to have a live Christmas tree that was taller than three feet high. That first year we refinished our dining room floor a few days before Christmas. When we came home from our family shopping day we put the tree up. My daughter had a small kitten that really liked the tree. She could often be found somewhere in the branches.

I finally had a place to put my manger scene. It went under the tree.

The children were young and they wanted to play with the pieces. I let them if none of them disappeared. Each day we added one more piece until Christmas Eve when we added baby Jesus. They went through their toy box to find additional animals to add. There was even a dog. I think back to those days fondly. Letting the children play with the pieces was the best idea I ever had. They so looked forward to doing that every year.

One year one of our ministers at church had each of the children hold a piece of the manger scene during the Christmas Eve service. As he read the story they were asked to add their piece to the set. I tell you there were a bunch of nervous mothers who hoped their child did not drop their piece. All went off perfectly and the complete scene was set up.

I had a very small scene that went with my houses and stores. That went out every year. Then, there was the scene I found at the Salvation Army Store in Jamestown. It was a more rustic set. The buildings looked like they were made of clay. There were lights to illuminate every building. That is the one I put out most now – especially after I went to the production in Lancaster at the Sight and Sound Theater.

If you have never visited that theater, it is well worth your effort to get there. They do a beautiful job with the Bible plays they produce. On one trip we took the behind-the-scenes tour. It was wonderful. We saw how they move things around, how they line up the costumes, we even saw the scenery for the next production they were working on.

If you are not a Bible reader, I ask you to think it over and read the book of Luke prior to Christmas. It is the complete story of Jesus’ birth. Conveniently, there are twenty-four chapters so it just fits into the advent season this year. A few days have passed, but I am sure you can make them up. Do it as a family.

My Bible tells me it was written by Luke, a physician and disciple of Jesus. This book dates to anywhere from 59 – 80 A.D.

They are not sure just where it was written but some think it was written in Rome. The book is based on personal testimony as well as research that he conducted.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry can be divided into three parts – the events that took place around Galilee, those that took place in Judea and Perea, and those of His first week in Jerusalem. He considers verse 19:10 key verse. It says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

That is the story of the Nativity!

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.