My husband and I both agree that our favourite wedding gift was a Nativity set. Every year when we get out the cream-coloured, gold-trimmed ceramic figurines, we think of the couple who gave it to us, Bob and Virginia, now both deceased, and say a prayer for them.
There’s no way this kind couple could have known that, over the years, our children would treasure unwrapping each figurine and carefully placing them in the wooden manger set we acquired along the way. Or maybe they did know, or at least hoped, that the set would be a treasured part of our family Christmas tradition every year, an inspiration for countless questions from the children about the birth of Christ (and maybe just a bit of arguing over who gets to place the Baby Jesus in his crib after Christmas Mass).
Since moving into my mother’s house nine years ago, we have had the privilege of setting up her Nativity set, along with our own. Totally different in construction, these figurines are just a few inches high, colourful, made of sturdy resin, accompanied by a rough-hewn wooden manger. I’ve always loved the backstory of this manger set, which my family acquired when I was quite young. The sets were made by men who were recovering from addictions at Talbot House, a local rehabilitation facility. I can’t think of a better project for someone who is rebuilding his life – hammering together pieces of wood to provide a shelter for the image of Our Lord, reminding the world of God’s mercy poured out on the world.
Every Catholic home should have a Nativity set for the Christmas season. It doesn’t have to be fancy, breakable, or costly. Secondhand stores are often great places to find affordable sets, or at least the figurines. Many Catholics take out their sets at the beginning of Advent as a focal point for prayer and preparation. I heard recently of a tradition some families have of placing their wise men figurines near their front door and moving them a little bit each day of Advent until they arrive at the family manger scene on Christmas Day, or even waiting until the Feast of Epiphany. Every movement of the three kings can be an opportunity for discussion in the family about waiting and searching for the Saviour.
Some families wait to put up their Nativity sets until the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. The scene depicted in the Nativity set has a direct link to this Solemnity that celebrates the moment our Blessed Mother was conceived without sin in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. Indeed, without Mary’s complete purity, there would be no birth of Christ. Or, to put it another way, the connection between this important Solemnity and the birth of Christ clearly shows the hand of God at work preparing the world for the arrival of his Son.
Every family can make their own tradition surrounding their Nativity sets. Reading Scripture or praying as a family in front of the manger scene is a powerful way to remind children what we really need to focus on throughout Advent and the Christmas season.
St. John Henry Newman, a clergyman who converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 19th-century England, became a Catholic priest and eventually a cardinal, was particularly concerned with society forgetting about the spiritual focus of the Christmas season. His solution was to publish his sermons on the importance of Christ’s birth and give people practical solutions for keeping Christ front and centre. In his 1851 sermon “The Special Charm of Christmas,” he said this:
“In Christmas, Christ comes to us as our guest. And coming, He brightens everything. He does not take away … He adds grace to Nature … . He makes the world our home, for He deigns to be the light of it. He sanctifies families with the image of Mary and Jesus.”
Are you ready to have Christ as a guest in your home? If that sounds a bit intimidating, it probably should, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We should be in awe of Christ wanting to dwell with us. How will we respond to His presence? Will we allow it to change us? Will the Nativity set in our homes throughout Advent and Christmas be the catalyst for Christ dwelling in our hearts year-round?
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, four of her six children, and her mom. She can be reached at clarelazzuri@gmail.com.
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