Coolest Nativity

This past weekend my wife found a really activity for us to do: a living Nativity! So you might have a Nativity set as a Christmas decoration in your house, with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, some wise men, some shepherds, but all made of wood or maybe plastic.

A living Nativity is a little different. This one was in a church, and they built the whole village of Bethlehem inside. There was a whole market with basket weavers, money lenders, women at the well, flowers for sale, and even some actual (and stinky) dead fish! And there were real people instead of wooden characters, with real animals! My favorite animal they had was a miniature pony (I really wish I got a picture of it).

We had to register in the census to pay Roman taxes just like in the Bible, then walked through the market and the money lender gave us some shekels (I gave a few to the beggar girl). I paid our taxes to the tax collector near the well and the wine press. Then we walked through the synagogue and the priests told us that Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because they didn't know about it. Then we found the inn and behind it the stable where Mary and Joseph were holding baby Jesus (that's where the pony was too!).

We had a lot of fun, so if you ever have a chance to go see a living Nativity, definitely do it!

/// Dylan