For my own nativity scene, however, I have always put everything up at once, baby, Wise Men, camels, the whole thing.
I have a friend who always says to me - oh no - baby Jesus doesn't arrive until Christmas Eve - you can't put him in now! And I have always shrugged this off as not important, which to me it isn't. But until this year I hadn't really thought about it. WHY isn't important to me whether my nativity scene has the baby in it or not?
I thought about it and I realised. I am not a religious person in the sense of churches and prayers and hierarchy. I am, however, a very spiritual person, in the sense that I respect every other living creature, human, animal or plant. I believe that there is something of God (whatever you believe God to be) in every living thing, and it is up to each one of us to reach out to that 'something of God' in each other living creature. So it doesn't matter to me whether baby Jesus is in my nativity or not. Jesus and his teachings are always here. He is in every moment of every day. He is in every person that I speak to. He is in every person that I ignore.
This will make some people smile, because I really am not a religious person. But I do genuinely believe that God is in every one of us. And that Jesus showed us the way we should try to live. So whether my little nativity has its baby or not, its irrelevant.
The message is here, in everyone's heart. If we can't find it, then we need to look harder. A few years ago I made Christmas cards with the message 'And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness knew it not'. Each card was water coloured and it took me ages, but to me, somehow, the message was important. No matter how dark it is, there is always light. Christmas is hard for many people who have lost loved ones. But the message is always there. No matter how dark it is, the light will always come back.
And amidst the glaring flashing shops, the canned music, the constant cries to spend more money to get yourself the perfect Christmas - amidst all this, is the message of hope, light and love.
Christmas is about love, love for each other, acceptance of each other, sharing with each other. That's what each present means. Love, share and accept. Personal items don't mean a thing. Who has dinner where doesn't mean a thing.
What matters is what is in your heart.
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