The Christmas Crib

Because I was the one with small children, when our family home was finally emptied and sold, I inherited all the Christmas decorations. 

I’ve also accumulated lots of decorations made by the boys. 

Quite a sizeable band of angels play at the top of our tree now, mostly bought in charity shops but some given to us by Mrs Quilt downsizing. 

There is an angel for every relative or friend that has passed away. 

For decades the tree at home was a 3ft metal and plastic one that stood on the telly.

Those were the days when tellies came in big wooden cabinets wide enough for several ornaments. 

This meant that whenever Mum asked “What’s on the telly?”

Dad would reply “A clock, a vase, a photo of the kids and some dust.”

But I digress …

The first year I was at university, and discovered the CTS* shop, I gave Mum a resin Madonna and holy infant in a manger as a Christmas gift.

We put it under the tree on top of the telly, and created a crib with all my old toy farm animals: cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and pigs.

A plastic rat fell out of Dad’s Christmas cracker.

He immediately put it in the crib with “It’s a stable, there were bound to have been rats in the stable.”

But when it came to authenticity it wasn’t only the pigs that were questionable.

Later a plastic crocodile and rhinoceros found their way into the tableau.

“They are all God’s creatures” said Dad.

 

*Catholic Truth Society, the place to go for icons and images of Our Lord, Our Lady, The Holy Family and any number of saints.