The Nativity

We had a hand carved and hand painted set of nativity figures from my dad’s home in Oberammergau, Bavaria. It included delicate 6-7 inch figures in elaborate detail — shepherds, sheep, a blind old shepherd with a young boy hold his hand, Joseph with a small lamp in his hand, baby Jesus who could be taken out of his manger of hay, angels with golden wings playing violins and flutes. My dad would set the whole thing up by creating a mountainside scene from a huge old gnarly tree root. Moss for grass, glass for a pond for the sheep to drink at and a swan to swim in. It is a family heirloom! Baby Jesus would always be put in his bed of carefully carved hay, by the youngest child, on Christmas Eve, as we stood around and heard the story, before opening presents.