A
manger scene is the primary decoration in most southern
European, Central American, and
South American nations. St.
Francis of Assisi created the first living nativity in 1224
to help explain the birth of Jesus to his followers.
About two thousand years
ago, in the town of Nazareth, there lived a young woman
named Mary. She was engaged to be married to Joseph, a
carpenter. One day an angel appeared before her and told her
she had been chosen to have a special baby. The baby would
be God's son and she must call him Jesus.
Soon after the angel's
visit, Mary and Joseph were married. Mary was due to have
her baby when they were told they had to go on a long
journey to Bethlehem, which was where Joseph came from.This
was because they had to pay a special tax. Mary had to ride
on a donkey for a few days over the hills of Gallilee.
At last Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem.
It was crowded with other people who needed to pay their
taxes. Mary was very tired and needed a place to stay. At
each inn, the story was the same. There was no room for
them. Eventually, one kind innkeeper said he had a stable
where he kept his animals. They were welcome to stay there.
And so it was that a few
hours later, Mary gave birth to her son in that stable. She
wrapped Jesus in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger
full of hay.
At the same time, on a
hillside overlooking Bethlehem, some shepherds were watching
over their sheep. A bright light appeared in the sky. They
were very afraid. It was an angel sent by God. The angel
told them not to be afraid, because he had some good news.
He said the Son of God had been born and they would find Him
in Bethlehem.
The shepherds wanted to
go and see the baby. When they arrived at the stable, they
were filled with joy at seeing Jesus lying in the manger.
They knelt down and worshipped Him. They told Mary and
Joseph how the angel had appeared in the sky and told them
that Jesus was to be the Saviour of the world.
Far away in the East,
three wise men named Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, saw a
new star shining high in the sky. These men, who were kings,
studied the stars and they knew this was a very special
star. They studied their scrolls where it said that whenever
a bright new star appeared it meant that a great ruler had
been born.
The three wise men
decided to find this new ruler. They went to Jerusalem to
see King Herod, as they thought
the baby would be in the palace. They asked to see the child
that would be King of the Jews. The king was troubled. He
thought this new king may take away his throne. He told them
to return when they had found the baby so that he could
worship the child himself.
The wise men set off to
find the baby. They were guided by the star to the stable in
Bethlehem. Here they knelt down and worshipped Jesus. They
gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. That night,
the three men had the same dream where an angel warned them
that King Herod wanted to kill Jesus and told them not to go
back to his palace.
The wise men went back
to their own country without calling to see Herod. Soon
after Joseph had a dream where an angel told him to take
Mary and Jesus to Egypt as King Herod had ordered that Jesus
be killed. They left Bethlehem right away. When the wise men
did not return, Herod ordered that baby boys in Bethlehem be
killed. They did not find Jesus as he was safe.
