The Nativity

To start off the Christmas season right we went to the Alpine community Live Nativity. The kids love it because everyone is all dressed up and they have a bunch of real animals along the way. Last year we went at night and it was so magically but really cold. So this year we decided to go to the Saturday matinee and avoid a lot of the FHE crowds on Monday.

After getting out of the trailer you come up and meet a Shepard and he begins to tell you what your journey is about and what you will see along the way.

 He asked everybody why sheep were so important? And then he talked about Christ being the Lamb of God and also The Good Shepard.

 He said we would meet some Roman soldiers on our way. And we knew we would be close to getting to the baby Jesus. They even asked us how old Christian was. Could you imagine?!

We saw a few donkeys on the way. Christian loved to pet them and even gave one a kiss on the nose when it turned around to look right at him. They told us the story of The Legend of the Donkey. Here is a version I found online that tells it better than I could remember it.

Jesus requested a donkey and so some men took the animal to Jesus, who stroked the grateful donkey’s face and then mounted it and rode away. So it was on the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus led his followers into the city of Jerusalem riding on the back of a small, common donkey.

The donkey so loved his gentle master that he later followed him to Calvary. Grief-stricken by the sight of Jesus on the cross, the donkey turned away but couldn’t leave. It was then that the shadow of the cross fell upon the shoulders and back of the donkey, and there it stayed. All donkeys have borne the sign of the cross on their backs since that very day.

 Next we came to a big barn where they had people portraying every day life in Bethlehem. And first we came upon The 3 Wise Men. They told us how they were able to search for the baby Jesus and brought him gifts, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. They told us how they found each gift and how rare and precious they were.

Next we learned about life in Bethlehem. Julia helped with some of the carpertry and blacksmith jobs. They told us that these were important trades to learn and you usually had to have a mentor help you learn the skills to become successful. 

 There were little stations that showed us how people took clay and made pots and storage vessles for water. We saw people making baskets and rope out of different materials. They even told us how they made bread and that is was very important for sustaining life in that time.

We left the little town of Bethlehem and made our journey to the stable where the baby Jesus was. The minute you walked in it was so peaceful and quiet. The kids were very reverent as they looked at the manger and saw the baby Jesus. Layne said it before I did but the spirit in that room was so strong. Being there in person was a very real and special experience. This is what Christmas is all about. I'm glad we are able to take part in these spiritual things and have our kids involved so they can be a part of that special spirit too!