There are different ways of depicting one’s version of Christmas. To some it’s just a snowman with a carrot nose and coal buttons on his chest. (Questions: Where does one get lumps of coal these days? Also, can there be a Frosty female?) To others it’s a virtually impossibly speedy sled pulled by a now odd-number of reindeer. This year’s Christmas (and Hallowe’en) front lawn décor is dominated by enormous inflatables. However, Mr. Bah Humbug’s property remains as dark as Frosty’s buttons.
Our Williamstown home’s 1976 Bethlehem stable was made of weathered barnboard. Wood shavings from Upper Canada Village’s cabinetmaker’s shop provided the bedding. The livestock were brought from Israel, carved of olive wood. Nothing made in China for us!
Our family tradition commemorated the Christmas morning arrival of the holy family trio. I approached tannenbaum, our living room live fir tree. At its base was the stable. I was about to put Jesus, Mary and Joseph in their December 25 place, to have them miraculously appear beside the innkeeper’s livestock. To my surprise, Matza, the kitten we had acquired in Vienna in 1974, had made room for herself by pushing the animal figures aside from their usual place. The cow and sheep lay scattered on the floor. The cat was contentedly asleep, in her new-found curl up place.
Of course, we couldn’t in any way scold or punish this innocent little creature. As Cecil Frances Alexander wrote in his 1848 hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful, “He prayeth best, who loveth best; All things great and small; For the dear God who loveth us; He made and loveth all.” Note the emphasis on the words ‘all, small.‘ Those words are also found in the 2020 spin-off television series All Creatures Great and Small, based upon James Herriot’s books.
Little Matza was a creature, and small, and definitely innocent. The scene described in Luke 27:7 “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in the manger…” was scattered about, so we would have to pick the pieces up off the floor and set them up again. This little incident remains fresh in my memories of Christmas.
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